What Are You Doing Up?

In what may added to the seven wonders of the world, The Boy is up and going. The sprinklers have just started on the golf course and the lawn mowers are out, but it is too early for the golfers. On a typical summer morning where we have nothing to do, I usually don't see The Boy until 11:00. He is a true night owl, and he comes by it honestly, so as long as he accomplishes all chores and responsibilities, I am fine with this. So imagine my shock when I head into the kitchen to make coffee and see the goofy smiling face greeting me with a "Yo, what's up mommy?"

He won his game last night. When it was all said and done, the score was 18-6. There were some tense moments, but all in all, it was an easy one. For anyone interested, and because I am his mom and this is my blog, he had 2 doubles, one single and 2 walks. This was a good game for him...and much needed after the previous night. The great news is, his team lives to see another night. The tough news is that they have to beat the team that beat them the other day twice to win the championship. Now this is definitely doable, but it will be a challenge.

Back to this morning...I sense that The Boy is up because he is nervous/excited. Chances are, he will pitch tonight. Last night, he said "What if they tee off on me?" And dad wisely answered "So what. You fight. You battle. You tee off on them." This seemed to appease him, but I have a feeling he thought about it all night. So this morning, I will sit here and come up with something fun and distracting to do today so that all thoughts are not on tonight's game. I will break my cardinal rule of healthy breakfasts and go pick up some 1,000 calorie biscuit so that he will smile and enjoy it. And I will say a little prayer that win or lose, he will come home tonight with the same goofy smile on his face that greeted me this morning...

Meanwhile, the Little One sleeps....an unusual occurrence past the crack of dawn. Go figure...she will wake up and say to her brother, "What the heck are you doing up?" And then she will say to me "I'm starving" ...

So until tomorrow, when I suspect that win or lose, schedules and life will return to normal...but I'm keeping my fingers crossed...

Morning Mug

I have a cabinet in my kitchen that is reserved for mugs. Everyone who is in my kitchen for any amount of time knows about it. Each morning, the first thing I do when I walk in my kitchen at 6:28 is open my mug cabinet and choose a mug. It's kind of like choosing an outfit for the day. I'm not sure what it means psychologically, but I do know that before I choose one, I kind of gauge my mood for the day.
I would say I have accumulated approximately 40 mugs. Every few years, I weed out the ones that have no particular meaning to me. These would include the generic mugs that might come in a random gift basket or something.
Most of the mugs I have invoke a special memory or emotion. First, there are the mugs with my children's artwork in them. When I was little, we just brought home a picture that we had colored from school. Now, the kids bring home artwork that can be purchased. You can choose, or let me re-phrase that, you Have to choose from mugs, totes, picture frames...all sorts of little kitchy stuff. (If you don't purchase anything, you are forever known as the mother who didn't care enough to buy her child's artwork) I always choose the mug, so to begin with, I have 2 lovely mugs with Matt and Ellie's artwork. I also have the lovely mug that my daughter, Kelly, made for me at the pottery-themed birthday party she attended in middle school. This is actually one of my favorites. It is a soft purple color with a green trim, and I can still remember the sweet look on Kel's face when she gave it ot me. I reach for it many mornings, unless I feel I am going to need a lot of coffee. It isn't microwaveable (I found this out by burnng my hand), so there are some days that it just won't work.
Next, there are the ones that my husband gives me on special days. He has traditionally given me one on New Years, so I have a few that are dated, with ballons and stuff, and then there are also some that he obviously chose because he thought I would like the color. Then there are the Valentine's Day mugs that say "Kiss me" and other cute little sayings. These are classified as "emotional" mugs. If Tony and I are fighting, these get shoved to the back of the cabinet.
Next are the random mugs that I have picked up on my own. These are likely to be ones with cute little sayings like "I'd rather be in Paris". They make me smile or laugh, and I usually go for those when I need to be cheered up.
Lastly, there are the ones that are sentimental. When my mother-in-law passed away, I ended up with a set of her coffee mugs. They are yellow with polka dots, and I find that I reach for those a lot lately. They remind me of Rose and they make me feel good. She used to open the mug cabinet and ask "Do you mind if Iuse this one?" That always made me laugh. As if I would only allow her to use certain ones. Then she would pause and take her time choosing one. I loved that.
Funny the way little things can make or break your day.
I love my mugs.