How many coffee mugs do YOU have? I must have 50+ and that’s after I gave some away because I didn’t have room for them all. Are your favorite mugs in the front of your cabinet? Do you even reach in the back for the ones stored there? My husband has his favorites and we vie for ‘front and center’ shelf space. (marriage compromise even in the cabinets 🙂
Have you ever thought about why you favor one mug over another? Or one cup over another? Did someone special give it to you – Husband, friend, child? Does it bring back a memory? Do you ever take the time to think about that memory? Typically I do not.
Last night I made myself a cup of Bedtime Bliss tea. Now, I don’t drink tea every night but when I do, this is totally my 1st pick before bed. The taste is great and it relaxes me. I reached in the mug cabinet but did NOT take the ones in front. I reached for a tea cup near the back. And, as I sat there drinking that tea, I began to think of Sparkle.
Sparkle and I met in college – almost 50 years now (I know, I know – I don’t look a day over 25!). Sparkle’s ‘real’ name is Patti. (I didn’t even know that for many many years). Sparkle loves the beach – it is her happy place. She would visit the beach and stay with another of my college roommates, Marsha, and dream about ‘someday’……when she too would live at the beach. (I have to interject and tell you – Marsha was Marshmello in college – she is Mo now. As for me, I was affectionately known as ‘Crazy Jane’. I don’t think much has changed for me.)
Well, her ‘someday’ is finally happening. She is moving from Virginia, where she has lived since we graduated from college – to the beach. The same beach where Marsha lives! She is leaving her family, friends and her best loves right now – her 3 grand daughters. But the beach is calling and she must go!!
Now, this is major life changing stuff. And starting over! It has been alot of work. Purging after living in the same condo for 20 years. Figuring what she wants to put in storage and what she wants to give away. Cleaning, packing and moving to a temporary residence until April 1st. Whew! Im tired just writing about it.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, I was thinking about Sparkle last night because she is the one who gave me the tea cup. It is my ‘go to’ cup for night time tea. For some reason tho, last night, while drinking that tea, alot of memories were triggered. Our past – where we were when we were 17, all the crazy things we did, where we are right now, where we are headed (besides the fact that every body part is headed south!), our friendship over the past 50ish years and what it has meant to me. And, how grateful I am that we met and have kept in touch.
I will be spending a week with Sparkle, Mo and 3 other girlfriends from college this summer. They are all headed to my house to play. We have gone from 5 of us to 6 – adding 1 extra college roommate this year (who we connected with on Facebook). It will be so fun catching up.
So, next time you grab a mug or a cup out of the cabinet, stop and think about where it came from. Does it trigger great memories? Did someone give it to you? Have you hugged that person recently? Have you spoken to that someone recently? If not, pick up the phone. Give a hug. Rekindle that friendship and relationship. You never know when it might be too late.
celebrating our 60th birthdays together
And, think of Sparkle enjoying her ‘someday’ at the beach.
Thanks so much Janie❤️I had tears in my eyes as I read this. I too treasure our enduring friendship so grateful I have you in my life as I start my new journey. I love this post.
Wow. Crazy Jane. Ha! In my brief days of film school, I was nicknamed “Krazy Kate”. I’m certain this shall stick with me until the end of time. Thank you for your words. My mother “Sparkles” so bright and I swear just calling her during my morning coffee is better than any therapy session I’ve had to pay for. I have a small section in my kitchen cabinet for mugs. Let me tell you how fun it has been recreating my mug selection since I let the old one go. My mom always gets the best ones and I love to think about her when I have my morning coffee in a mug from her. This made my day and also brought tears of joy to my eyes. Everything happens for a reason. It has to. I rarely try to argue this these days and Mama Sparkle (what I call her and many of my friends) moving south gives me so much hope that this is true. 20 years in one condo working her butt off…just to get…here. She is more than a “story”, more than an “Earth Angel”, beyond a retired woman in her sixties (but looks decades younger). She is the definition of what it looks like to be on a path so graceful it puts the most beautiful paradises to shame. She sees the Earth differently and her grandchildren (my nieces) will get to see this blossom more and more with every trip to the Atlantic Ocean to visit Grammie in her very own tranquility zone. Her “someday” is about to take off and I can’t wait for her to be sending me photos of her on the beach this Spring. Most days I often think, “where would I be if I hadn’t stayed at Mo’s with my mom when I first got sober 2 years ago?” Or “where would I be if my mom hadn’t been my biggest fan and never given up on me?” And now I get to tell myself, “Never give up Kate. Have your cup of coffee in a mug and call your mom. Sit and have your coffee together over the phone in one of the many mugs Mama Sparkle got you in peace because too late is right.” I loved this blog post. This has triggered so much for me. This morning I drank my coffee out of a mug that says, “I love California” with the California bear holding a surfboard. When I moved back to Virginia, it found me at a thrift store. I get to think of all the good memories made out West. Ah, the nostalgia. Jane, you rawk woman! Thank you for being such a lovely spirit and for always being on my side. I am so grateful for you – and for all of you being the best friends to my mama. Mad Love :] – Kate
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Loved this post!
Thanks so much Janie❤️I had tears in my eyes as I read this. I too treasure our enduring friendship so grateful I have you in my life as I start my new journey. I love this post.
Wow. Crazy Jane. Ha! In my brief days of film school, I was nicknamed “Krazy Kate”. I’m certain this shall stick with me until the end of time. Thank you for your words. My mother “Sparkles” so bright and I swear just calling her during my morning coffee is better than any therapy session I’ve had to pay for. I have a small section in my kitchen cabinet for mugs. Let me tell you how fun it has been recreating my mug selection since I let the old one go. My mom always gets the best ones and I love to think about her when I have my morning coffee in a mug from her. This made my day and also brought tears of joy to my eyes. Everything happens for a reason. It has to. I rarely try to argue this these days and Mama Sparkle (what I call her and many of my friends) moving south gives me so much hope that this is true. 20 years in one condo working her butt off…just to get…here. She is more than a “story”, more than an “Earth Angel”, beyond a retired woman in her sixties (but looks decades younger). She is the definition of what it looks like to be on a path so graceful it puts the most beautiful paradises to shame. She sees the Earth differently and her grandchildren (my nieces) will get to see this blossom more and more with every trip to the Atlantic Ocean to visit Grammie in her very own tranquility zone. Her “someday” is about to take off and I can’t wait for her to be sending me photos of her on the beach this Spring. Most days I often think, “where would I be if I hadn’t stayed at Mo’s with my mom when I first got sober 2 years ago?” Or “where would I be if my mom hadn’t been my biggest fan and never given up on me?” And now I get to tell myself, “Never give up Kate. Have your cup of coffee in a mug and call your mom. Sit and have your coffee together over the phone in one of the many mugs Mama Sparkle got you in peace because too late is right.” I loved this blog post. This has triggered so much for me. This morning I drank my coffee out of a mug that says, “I love California” with the California bear holding a surfboard. When I moved back to Virginia, it found me at a thrift store. I get to think of all the good memories made out West. Ah, the nostalgia. Jane, you rawk woman! Thank you for being such a lovely spirit and for always being on my side. I am so grateful for you – and for all of you being the best friends to my mama. Mad Love :] – Kate