Why do specific coffee mugs affect the way our coffee or tea taste? Because they are more than mugs!
I (robin) was having this revelation of “mug-specialness”, when I started looking at instagram. I saw two posts from my friends within five minutes of each other saying the exact same thing.
Then, like a tragic play from Shakespeare, I put a mug in the dishwasher, it slipped from the tray and fell to its death. It wasn’t just any mug. It was from Erica’s childhood.
Our favorite drinks taste different in our favorite mugs.
Each mug has a special memory attached.
Where were you when you bought it? Who were you with when you first drank from it? Who gave you the mug?
Somehow, as we sip that warm liquid, those memories swirl around our subconscious like the sugar and cream swirl inside the mug. We are reconnected to a dear relationship, a vacation, a geographical location. We escape in a way. It is way more than a beverage. It is an experience. We are comforted, relaxed, rested.
Starbucks knows all about the power of the moment, feeling, and aesthetic value hot beverages offer and have catapulted it into a multibillion dollar business. Sure, the flavor is good, but more than that is the value we feel when we see the perfect paint color, smell the aroma, and are greeted by a barista who knows our name. When we take that mug home, we are reconnected to that coffee shop. (see my friends’ pics above)
Here are some of our favorites:
Erica’s favorite mug (thankfully, I didn’t break this one) from her childhood. Sweet memories from Uncle Ted and Aunt Laura.
Robin learned how to drive in a Saab 900 Turbo! This mug was given to his parents when they bought the car.
This mug is from Robin’s grandparents. Look closely. Paw is in the outhouse and his coffee is now ready!
This is from our favorite breakfast on vacation. Nothing beats Dottie’s in San Franscisco.
What is your favorite mug?
Where does it take you?
Who bought it for you?
Why is it a big deal?
Those are are interesting questions.
However, the biggest question we should be asking ourselves as parents: What will our kids think of when they drink from our mugs 20 years from now? We have acquired a few mugs over the last few years. Some of them are ugly, weird, pretty. We don’t consider them “valuable”. They take up the space of our cabinets. However, our kids are drinking from them in the context of YOUR PRESENT HOMELIFE. They will connect with these moments for the rest of their lives when they look at pics, smell something familiar, or drink from that $7 mug you bought at the Rain Forest Cafe on your last vacation.
What we do right now affects our kids forever. The safety of our homes and the consistency of our schedules make a difference. The attention we pay to the details of their life will be remembered when they sip a $14 cup of coffee in 2037. (That might actually be a cheap cup in that day and time.)
Don’t give up.
Keep sippin’ and rememberin’. But, at the same time, keep making memories with your kids! This week is one more chapter in your legacy.
What People are Saying