My Ugly Mug

Flash back to Mother's Day 1979. Earlier that year, my husband and I had separated and I found out the day before Mother's Day, that he had not taken them anywhere to get me a card or gift. The girls asked if I would take them shopping so they could buy me a present. I loaded them up, along with their brother and headed into town. John and I wandered around while they were looking, waiting for them to make a loving and thoughtful decision about what to purchase with their limited funds.

When they came out of the last store with package in hand, they were giggly and seemed pleased with themselves. I was touched by their thoughtfulness and knew, that no matter how small their gift might be, that it was symbolic of their love for me. I just knew... I just needed to believe... that while my marriage was falling apart, my relationship with my children would always sustain me and lift me up, even as my self-confidence waned. I couldn't wait to open my present that year!

This is what they gave me on Mother's Day!




The truth is, I was so surprised by this gift that I'm sure I didn't react as well as a mother should when her children give her a present that is, let's say less than desirable. I was overly sensitive at that point in my life and suppose I was afraid that my children thought of me as an Aggie joke! How silly my reaction seems to me today.

This mug has been a source of jokes in our family for the past thirty years and when I told the girls I was going to submit it for a contest, they couldn't believe that I still had it. In all honesty, this mug has kept me humble over the years and I wouldn't part with it for anything.

I talked to each of my girls today and asked them what they were thinking back then. I loved their comments.

Jamie:

"I was just a kid and I thought it was funny."
"Besides that, it was cheap."
"It was Dee's idea!"
"I always wondered why the clerk kept asking if that was what we really wanted to give you."

Dee:

"Mom, I was only nine or ten."
"I was a follower back then, it was Jamie's idea."
"I didn't even know what an Aggie was."
"We really tried mom, honest!"

While I was talking to Jamie, she had to do something and gave the phone to Kayla, my youngest granddaughter who had just turned seven a few weeks before. I asked her what she thought about her mommy and aunt Dee buying me a really silly present when they were little girls and what she thought I should do to them for being so silly. She didn't hesitate. She simply told me that I should say thank you because her mommy told her to always say thank you when people give her gifts, even if the gift isn't exactly what she wanted. See what I mean about this mug. Even when viewed through the eyes of a seven year old, I am humbled by it and reminded that I am a very fortunate woman.



So thank you girls, thank you for the mug and for years of love and caring and joy. I'm only sorry that it took thirty years to find a purpose for it. Please know that I love my ugly Aggie Mug. Someday, I hope to find two more just like it!

John, just be glad you were only four or I might be looking for three of them!

********************** PLEASE GO VOTE **********************
Go to 2nd Cup Of Coffee and follow Linda's instructions on how to vote! Please, vote for me, as it will go a long way toward improving my scarred relationship with my children and how people of the world view Aggies in general. Perhaps I could get a new mug with the Starbucks gift certificate that the winner will receive... I mean really, have you ever tried drinking from an Aggie mug?

What A Difference A Day Makes!

Okay, so it's been more than a day but as fast as everything has been happening around here it seems that quick. Let's just say it's been a strange couple of weeks. I've put some of the events and or updates from this time in outline form to try to keep everything straight (more for me than for you... lol).

Indiana- I canceled my trip to Indiana completely. My sister is there with mom instead of me. I'm glad she was able to go and I'm hoping I'll still make it up soon. If not, I will definitely head up in the fall.

Mom is fine. All of her tests came back looking pretty much like they did the last time she had them done so it appears that if she had an "incident", it was very minor and caused no perceptible damage. We have a mutated gene in our family (Factor V Leiden), which causes blood clots and can lead to strokes. Our clots typically form in the veins, not in the arteries and I've talked to my sister about making sure that they are looking beyond arterial clotting when they are testing mom. Most strokes (90%) are caused by arterial blockage or clots and they seldom look beyond that cause. FVL will be a subject of a future post, somewhere down the line.

My back is so much better. I am back to my normal aches and pains which I can deal with quite well. I think I need to get back on a regular exercise routine and do more stretching to avoid future problems.

Job offer- I had a job offer out of the blue that seems to have vanished before I got the specifics. I'm still not sure what happened but I was surprised to find that my interest was peaked so easily and disappointed that it doesn't appear that I'm going to get the details to even make a decision. I've been retired for four years and I think I'm ready to do something and the money would be nice!

My baby is moving away- My son has never lived anywhere, other than this area, since we moved here when he was 4 months old. The plant where he worked shut down over a year ago and he has been in school preparing for a new job since then. He was within a few months of completing that when he got word that GM was offering positions in Wentzville, Missouri and as soon as he heard, he made sure he had that location listed on places he would transfer to. He was called a few days later to start on the 16th of this month and then got a call to ask him if he could be there on the 9th, which is next Monday. He has spent the past week or so preparing everything to get out of here early Saturday morning. For the time being, he will be keeping his home, in the hopes that he will get an opportunity to transfer to the plant in Shreveport, which has been his goal since the plant here shut down. That could be as soon as a year from now or maybe up to three years. The kick in the pants is that just a few days after he signed a commitment to go to Wentzville, the Shreveport plant opened up and called most of the other workers who were on the transfer list to go there. If he hadn't been so conscientious, he would have gotten the location he wanted with a lot less hassle than moving 620 miles away from home. But then, this can also be a great opportunity for John to branch out in what I know to be a terrific location. Besides, my older brother and his family all live in that area so he won't be completely alone. I would write more about John and the feelings I have about him moving except he's really a very private person and I wouldn't want to embarrass him. I'll save that for his birthday!

Wondering just how it is going to feel to be here in Monroe totally on my own. My kids are all in other places, my mom and my siblings are spread all over the place and it is just Ginger, Woody and me come Saturday. We miss John already!

A Busy Week

The past week was busy for me. Just catching up after being gone for three weeks was hectic enough. Laundry, cleaning, clearing away the mail that accumulated.

I also missed my son's 33rd birthday while I was gone. I finally got around to making a birthday dinner for him and his favorite yellow cake with chocolate icing on Wednesday night. We had half of it after dinner and I sent the rest of that home with him so I wouldn't be tempted to eat it myself. I took the other half of the cake with me to Dee's on Thursday night and it was pretty much devoured that evening.

Here's a few photos from my time with my kids last week.

John blowing out the candles on his cake... not very fancy, but it was good!

Dee on the phone, talking to her sister Jamie, my other daughter in Florida.

This is Emily, 13, (a good photo of her other than the finger, which would not clone out easily. I could have cropped it out but would lose part of her chin... oh well.)

This is Erin, 14, taken on the front porch swing. She was sitting with her friend Amy, who I cropped out of the photo. It was a nice shot of them both and I will send the original photo to be shared. They will start high school this year... sigh.

and of course, Sarah Grace, almost 11.
I can't believe she is moving to middle school this year... another sigh!