an ode to my favorite mug

this mug had a life before me.
i can only imagine what kind of life it must have had.
i found it at the hospital fair.
it was $.50 and perfect.
i'm not going to say i love san francisco.
i've never really been.
but i loved the bridge and the shape and the graphics from possibly the 70's or 80's.
or 60's. i don't know.
it just looked like someone thought, i'm going to get this in memory of my trip.
or because i love my city so much.
or maybe they just liked it like i did so they got it.
it was the perfect shape.
round but strong, firm, steady.
just the right size.
for just the right amount of coffee.
i can't tell you how many times i've reached for that mug since this summer.
it just made me happy.
until yesterday.
when it fell out of my hand as i was climbing out of the car.
after a terrible day of crazy busyness.
after everything else just seemed out of place.
it fell.
and broke.
and before i had even realized how much i loved it,
before i reached, on my hands and knees, under my car to pick up the remaining pieces,
i tossed that first piece into the dumpster.
because i thought - live simply, don't be attached to things.
then as i'm crunched down, reaching for that remaining chunk of my favorite mug -
i thought, but i could have saved you!
so i ran to the dumpster to see if i could retrieve the piece i had already thrown out,
but it was gone.
i couldn't see it in the dark.
it was too cold to try to search anymore.
so in the other piece went.
i have other mugs.
but none that i'll miss as much as that one.
it was special.

i don't even have a good picture of it.

none of these come close.