in which i mourn a cup

Yesterday, my husband broke my all-time favorite teacup. It was an accident, and I forgave him thirty seconds later (yes, it took thirty seconds). And I know what you’re thinking: it was just a cup.

But it wasn’t. It was the perfect cup. The perfect sky blue color, the perfect cup-in-palm shape, the perfect weight, the perfect size for morning tea. I’ve seen a lot of life reflected in this cup. It’s the first thing I talk to every morning. No one else even wants to talk to me before we’ve shared at least one cup of tea. And by we, I mean me and my cup.

I found it one day at a flea market, years and years and years ago. It jumped right into my hand, knowing it would be going home with me. It only cost a few dollars, and I already had a beige version of the same cup at home, my then-favorite that had developed a hairline crack after many years of daily use. I still have that cup in the back of the cupboard, even though it’s cracked. It’s hard to part with old friends.

I also have a white version of the same cup, which is what I’m drinking out of this morning. And it’s almost as good as the blue one, but if I am honest, I must admit, I’ve always played favorites and loved the blue one just a little bit more. I know it’s wrong. But I couldn’t help it.

Truth is, I have a cupboard full of tea cups. And favorites I use for every different kind of tea. But my favorite tea is morning tea, most especially the very first cup, and my sky blue cup has been through a lot of mornings with me. Outside in the garden sipping a reflection of the sky, inside snuggled up with a book and blanket, work days that I would never have been able to face without my friend in hand.

Don’t get me wrong, in the grand scheme of things, I know this is nothing. That it is, in truth, just a cup. There are ten million things in life more important than this.

But just for this one short minute, in answer to this prompt, I’m allowing myself to mourn my cup.

Call me crazy if you want, I don’t mind.

But whisper, okay? Because I’ll be having a moment of silence.

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Reverb 12/Cultivate 2012:

What matters most to you right now?

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