Monday Mugs || Word Brain

“I do words, not numbers.”

It’s what I say every time I make a really embarrassing math mistake when I try to do simple math in my head but come out waaaaaay off. Or like the time I was at the bank and made a $1,000 mistake by forgetting to carry the one. (Thank you, sweet teller lady, for double checking and also not laughing at me to my face.) Apparently third grade math didn’t stick as well as my teacher would have hoped. Sorry, Mrs. Wilison.

It’s okay. If I had to choose between the two I’d pick words anyways. My family knows this, thankfully. And though my math-brain brothers tease me for it, I think my mom thinks it’s cute. Which I think it why she gave me this mug. And with perfect timing, too. My mom’s good at that.

I was laying on the living room floor, exhausted. I had just completed a week of Vacation Bible School as the director, and if you ever thought that looked like an easy job, you are wrong. Because though the VBS director doesn’t actually do anything all week except walk around giving high-fives, his or her brain is filled with all the moving parts and logistics of a week of community ministry. The actual week is VBS is the culmination of months of planning and once it’s over, it’s both a relief and a disappointment. Go figure.

My mom gave me this mug as a job-well-done gift. She said she thought I’d appreciate it. And I do. It’s perfect: It’s got lots of colors, the first letter of my name, and a typewriter. And. It’s got words. Words I think my mom was using to say, “You’re all of these. And I love you.”

I wouldn’t be any of them without you, Mom. I love you, too.

Monday Mugs is where I tell the stories behind my coffee mugs. Each one holds a story (and coffee, of course) of somewhere I’ve been or something I’ve seen. Because if even a coffee mug has a story, so do you. The photos are my actual mugs, not lookalikes found online. So grab one of your own mugs (fill it with coffee first) and hear the stories of mine. And don’t forget the cream and sugar.