Last week I dropped and broke my favorite tea mug. I was very disappointed that I had done this because it was special to me. I had given the mug to my dad for Fathers' Day back in the 1980s. I remember spending a lot of time looking around the local gift shop before deciding on that mug. I chose it because my dad was always overflowing the little coffee cups that were a part of our family's everyday dish set. The mug was a generous size with a nice handle. My dad used that mug every day, for close to ten years. When he died, my mother offered the mug to me. I quietly took it home, wondering whether to use it, or display it as some sort of remembrance of my dad.
I did indeed use that mug, for ten years. Every time I took it down off the shelf to make tea, and every time I washed it, I would say to myself, "Hello, there's my dad's mug." I'm going to miss that mug. I know I can't really replace it. I have so little of my dad's things, because he was a simple man and left little behind when he died. I guess this is one of those times when I let go a little more, yet again, of the material things of life.
So, yesterday I went on one of my every-few-months excursions to Target. My list of things I needed to get had grown large enough to warrant the trip. I wasn't planning on buying a mug. But, there was the display of the Orla Kiely housewares. I like her slightly retro/slightly scandinavian design sense. The original Orla Kiely product line is expensive. Hence, we now have Orla Kiely for the rest of us at Target, just like Martha Stewart at Kmart. I hesitated only for a moment, then put three mugs into my cart. I've already used them for a couple cups of tea. I really like them, but I still miss my dad's mug.