An Everyday Object

We all have a preference; thick or thin, plain or patterned. Maybe it’s chipped and old, moved from house to house with us or from our teenage years to adulthood. Was if a gift? If it was we probably weren’t enthused about receiving it, in any case we certainly don’t remember buying it ourselves. It’s highly possible it wasn’t even ours to begin with just another thing we’ve appropriated subconsciously over time as we do many other things.

Nevertheless the familiar curve of the handle and weight when full is a comfort we don’t acknowledge, not even noticing the lines of our own faces frowning when forced to use another; maybe at work or in someone else’s house. We’ve all got that one friend who seems to always use it when visiting and we find ourselves in the natural lull in conversation thinking, “That’s mine.” And when they’ve gone we give it a thorough clean where normally it’d only get a quick rinse.

The fact is nobody knows it’s our mug do they? We’ve never, nor will ever, mention it. Why? Because it’s such a mundane thing though it’s never more than an arms reach away. Most of us couldn’t pinpoint why that mug, we like the picture, the shape or the thickness of the porcelain. We’ve never really thought about it we barely even look at it but we’d know if it went missing. The point is it’s our mug and god forbid our morning caffeine should be consumed in any other mug than our subconscious favourite.