Mugs anyone?

Well, I got home from my dr.'s appt. today and Ron and Veronica were happy to see me. Ron was especially happy to see me since he was plum tuckered out from playing with the toys Veronica had brought. Since he had been working in the garage all afternoon, pricing the garage sale stuff, he was in the garage sale mode...always thinking about getting rid of more stuff.

So he tells me that on the top shelf of the cupboard where I keep all my mugs, there are some "teapots and things" that I should look at as possible garage sale "stuff." So, after a 12 hour day, me and my tired knee (teehee - adds to the drama, doesn't it?) climbed the stool and checked out the cupboard. I was astonished!! The "stuff" he wanted me to part with are antiques that belonged to his mom, passed down from her mom. Three genuine pottery pitchers - two small, one larger - (it's my syrup pitcher) - and another hand painted porcelain pitcher. I think it was used for gravy because it has a porcelain cover to it as well. There were teapots that I got as wedding gifts which I do use occasionally, but usually I just plop a teabag in a mug if it's just me having a cup of tea (as I did a few minutes ago).

And I said "HUH? You want me to sell these in a garage sale??"

They will go to Laurie - in fact when they visit, she is going to see all the stuff we are bringing out on our next road trip. I have the Noritake china which Ron sent to his mom when he was in the Navy and stationed in Japan - service for 12 with all the serving dishes and a huge teapot as well. It's beautiful and Laurie is excited that I am giving it to her. I made her get permission from Stephen because they are not pack rats - but she doesn't have a set of china so I think this will be good. Needless to say, the "stuff" in the cupboard is still there.

Which brings me to the subject of this post. My mugs are getting out of control. The problem is, they all have a memory attached to them. There's the very delicate mug which is pink on the inside and white on the outside with pink rosebuds. This is the very first mug the kids got me when they were little and were able to finally pick out a Christmas present when Ron took them shopping. After the pink mug, they gave me the mug with the sleepy bear family on the outside - in various stages of waking up. Then there are all the mugs my friends have given me over the years...the mug which had a petunia planted in it and was given to me the first time I met my Military mom friend Chris. Chris lives right up the road from me - and we found each other one night in MMs chatroom...we tried not to give away too much about where we lived but one word led to another and she said..."Sue...are you that family on ____ Rd. that has the two star banner in the window?" And then she told me where she lives - we are a mile and a half away from each other. And so Chris gave me the mug with the flower in it because, as she put it, she always sees Ron puttering around in the garden when she goes by our house.

There is a story behind every mug in my cabinet. I have mugs that I use because one of the kids gave them to me and on a cold winter's night when Laurie feels especially far away and I want to feel closer to her I use one; and there's my mug from a dear friend in Arkansas. That's one of my favorite Saturday morning mugs. So many and yet, I remember each of them and when we got them. There is a mug with a boot on it - that's the one I gave to Ron for our anniversary one year when he was so gung ho about the German movie about a WW II submarine - Das Boot.

So what am I going to do when I have one small cupboard in an RV designated for mugs? Hmmm - certainly they are not candidates for the garage sale. See, there are some people who say - when they open a mug - "oh boy!" That's ok - the last thing some people need is another mug in their cupboard. But me? No, unfortunately I am one of those people who LOVES getting a new mug. This is not good (just ask Ron). SO, until I absolutely must make a decision, I will continue to groan every time I unload the mugs from the dishwasher because it always means that I will be playing a game of musical mugs in the cabinet. Trying to fit them all in - stacking them just so. (Secretly, I really don't mind - in fact I love hearing Ron doing the groaning when he unloads the dishwasher:). Can you identify with any of this at all?

Well, that's it for tonight. As I look at the tag on the teabag steeping in the mug Laurie bought for me at our neighbor's garage sale when she was 5, the memory of her proudly bringing it home to me warms my heart so much more than the warmth of the tea that is in it. She went over there with about 50 cents and came back with a mug and a bowl with a flower on it..and a couple little trinkets. With her unselfish little heart, she joyfully presented the mug and the bowl to me.

Man oh man - I am hopeless, aren't I?

God's blessings to you my friends and may God bless our troops.

Sue