The Coffee Mugs.

I’ve given up Christmas shopping for the kids. Cash in the bottom of their stockings has been a hit, but this year I unintentionally reverted back to the search for the “perfect” gift.  

In January, buried on a Christmas clearance table, I found a Life is Good cartoon mug with a grinning young man dragging a Christmas tree. “Like what you do, do what you like” echoed the theme of Brendan’s high school graduation speech. This guy is Brendan.

A New Buffalo shop displayed a newspaper headline mug: Local Woman Named Dog Mother of the Year. Sources say, “She walks with the best of them.” This is Bethy!

Matching mugs with two different scripture passages, “In my house, we will serve the Lord” and “Faith, hope, and love. The greatest of these is love” were lovingly selected for Katie and Bobby, Marquette University graduates committed to the Jesuit tradition.

A bright Best Day Ever mug depicts Brigid’s life perspective as she seeks true presence through her meditation practices.

A student gave me a Caffeine is the new Black mug, a great re-gift for Kevin who obsesses over thrift stores, second-hand shopping, and coffee shops.      

A lidded Keep Calm and Carry On mug suits Bethy’s boyfriend Danny.

Tim’s mug displays the Winnie the Pooh quote: If you live to be a hundred, I want to be a hundred minus a day, so I would never live a day without you. This says it all.

Christmas morning, with great anticipation, I watched them open their boxes. Bethy whooped when she opened her gift. The others were pleased, but Bethy was delighted. One out of seven is pretty darn good. 

Later that morning, Bethy gave me a mug saying, “You are a courageous woman. A courageous woman starts each day determined to be true to the plan and purpose God has called her to.” Stunned, I thought, How does she know my life goal? Wow. The is perfect.

The next day, as I picked the Southside Irish Gift Shop tag off the bottom of the Courageous Woman mug, I suspected a re-gift. Like mother, like daughter, in many ways.   

2 thoughts on “The Coffee Mugs.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *