Playing Favorites

Every once in a while you find something that is just right. Something that you are sure was custom made for you. It might be a favorite pair of jeans, a garden spade that fits in the palm of your hand, or a bra that really does lift and separate - in all the right ways. It doesn’t really matter what it is. It’s just the fact that it works perfectly with your unique way of doing things. One of these things for me is my mug.

I purchased it to give as gift when I was in Scotland. It was a rainy morning but not too cold. We wondered through the topiary gardens and had a ball ducking under bushes and trying to figure out what everything was. The amount of work that goes into maintaining a topiary garden is astounding. It was worth every minute we spent there. As we were leaving, I decided to stop by the gift shop.

I found a few little odds and ends and was getting ready to pay for them when I saw a shelf of mugs. There were mugs with ladybugs, dogs, cats, flowers, and off to one side, a mug with sheep. I grabbed it and added it to my purchase. It was perfectly tacky and I loved it. I would decide whom I would give it too later. It was definitely a keeper.

It traveled with us all around Scotland, back to England, and then it flew home, in my carry on, back to the US. It sat on top of the microwave for a few weeks. I had no one to give it to. I couldn’t think of one person that would truly appreciate that mug. One day I decided to make some mint tea and that mug was going to be put to use. No use letting it sit there feeling useless.

After the tea had brewed it picked up the mug and started to drink. The mug fit in my hands perfectly. I don’t hold my mugs by the handle. I put my hands around the mug and use my thumbs under the handle to balance. It was a perfect fit. Basically, I drink from the rim just a little to the right of the handle. Well, not in public, but when I’m alone I do. The contour of the mug fit the natural contour of my hands perfectly. That mug was mine!

It has come in handy many times. I had a terrible wiffle ball accident that summer. Sprained my hand very badly. I would wake up with a stiff sore hand in the morning. A nice warm glass of tea in my sheep mug would make it feel better. It was a heat pack that fit my hand perfectly. It’s also great for cold fingers. They warm right up and I don’t even have to think about it. Just pick up my mug and drink.

I don’t know who designed the shape for that mug. I would like to meet them. I wonder if I shook their hand if it would be a perfect match to mine. That’s the kind of things I think about when I drink tea in the morning. I bet you are wondering what I think about when I drink tequila, at midnight, out of a hand blown glass goblet. Now that would make an interesting post…:)