No Saving

I was given this mug when I was seven years old. I vaguely remember an ivy of some sort growing out of the soil, planted into its “no spill” design. I loved everything about it, the color, the design, the sail boats. I received this cup during a week in the hospital for the removal of a brain tumor. Looking at the cup and the plant brought me joy.

Funny what you remember from a young age. I remember walking with an I.V. in my arm, lots of love from family and friends, playing the board game Sorry and of all the gifts and cards I received, I remember a plant given to me in this mug.

I can’t recall what happened to the plant, but I remember having such fond appreciation for this cup that I was scared to use it in fear of breaking it. I moved out of my parents house and still remember it being in a memory box over a decade later.

But today, no saving. I use the cup in my regular weekly coffee mug rotations, and the same appreciation for its color and design warms me, along with the cofee. What good would this mug be doing if it was still in a box?

I’m not suggesting we teach our kids to immediately consume whatever they are given, but rather encourage our kids to enjoy the gifts the receive today.

Some things like candy, consumed at once, could definitely have a negative outcome. Fortunately I didn’t have that problem growing up. Halloween candy seemed to last months at my house. I’d want to string out the excitement of the night forever, saving my favorites or counting down to the last Baby Ruth or package of Nerds in the bunch.

I also recall the myterious white coating that would appear on the chocolate. Hard candy wrappers would be a pain and a mess to remove, and then once I was able to even get the candy out and into my mouth, it didn’t taste quite like how it should.

My kids don’t seem to have received this trait from me. And while just the other night, a fight broke out over whether a sucker was an appropriate bedtime snack, they don’t eat the entire lot of sweets at once but they definitely get to enjoy some of it the moment they receive it.

Wear the new shoes, get out the best plates and silverware, share the love you have with your kids now. No saving.