Sheila's Coffee Cup

Years ago a friend gave Sheila this coffee cup with her name on it.

Then one day Sheila looked at the high shelf full of random coffee cups and decided it was time to let someone else enjoy some of the cups that we rarely, if ever, used. So she boxed up a bunch of them, including this one, and we hauled them to our favorite second hand shop. Hospitality House in Rome is a wonderful local charity that has done good work in our town for decades now. Their thrift store on Shorter Avenue is well organized, has good prices, is big enough to be interesting but not so large as to overwhelm, and supports a good cause. We go there several times a year. My Mother used to go almost every Thursday (Senior Day then).

It was only a few days or maybe weeks later that we visited my Mother and she proudly produced her latest thrift store find for her beloved daughter-in-law. Yep. Mother had bought the Sheila cup and was thrilled to give it (back) to Sheila. I never told Mother this story though I probably should have. I think she'd have gotten a kick out of it herself. 

One of the great blessings of my life is that my Mother and my wife loved each other and genuinely enjoyed each other's company.

Whatever happens to that cup physically, we can never completely lose it again; it is forever attached to a story.

Sheila and Mother share earbuds to listen while they watch a video of our grandkids.

My wife and my mother.