Coffee Mugs

Let me preface this post with saying that I don't hold on to a lot of things. I am quick to throw away things that clutter my home. I just don't like having a ton of junk around. That being said, there is one thing this doesn't apply to, as you will soon find out. :)

 As I was emptying my dishwasher today I was getting frustrated over the usual lack of space in my coffee cup cupboard (yes, I have a whole cupboard devoted to coffee mugs). Don't judge me. Ha! I have roughly 50 mugs. Crazy, I know. And the 2 years I spent working for Starbucks definitely didn't help the situation. At the rate I'm going we'll have almost 300 coffee mugs when we celebrate our 20th anniversary. I think I'd better slow down! I really need to devote more than one cupboard to my obsession, but can't justify it. I have so little space in my kitchen as it is! So the designated cupboard is overflowing. Mugs are stacked one on top of the other. I pray that they don't all come crashing down on me one day in a horrible mess! So anyway, back to emptying the dishwasher (remember I was frustrated)......but the frustration quickly gave way to wonderful memories. And it is because of these memories that my cupboards will forever overflow with coffee mugs.

You see, for as long as I can remember my family has always had what seemed like millions of mugs. Not just my parents but my grandparents too. I guess I knew I would always be the same. It's in our genes. As a child I remember going to the cupboards in my Granny and Pop's kitchen and looking at all of the coffee mugs that filled them. (I believe they have 3 cupboards devoted to coffee mugs.) Every morning, each person in the house would choose the mug from which they would sip their coffee or tea. Around the table these mugs would sit, each with a story and a memory of the past. Sometimes I would ask where certain mugs came from and other times I knew the stories behind them. There would be one from Disney World back in the 80's, one my mom made when she was little, another from a motorcycle trip or a vacation to the beach. I find myself doing the same thing at my parent's house. I'll open their (2 large) cupboards of mugs and remember friends who gave them or the places where we bought them as souvenirs. I do the same thing here at home. Each morning I look up into my cupboard and decide what I want to remember for a moment. As I choose, I reminisce about sweet memories. Maybe it's silly, but I love it. I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm destined to be a hoarder of mugs....and happy to do so. Because I'm also hoarding memories. Memories that I will one day share with my children and grandchildren and maybe even great-grandchildren. So bring it on the coffee mugs! And bring on the memories too.