Sometimes I ponder that life is truly in the mundane.
Merrian-Webster describes it as characterized by the practical, transitory, and ordinary: commonplace, the mundane concerns of day-to-day life.
The Collins Dictionary describes it as something that is mundane is very ordinary, and not at all interesting or unusual. Be willing to do mundane tasks with good grace, it says.
I see opportunity and growth in the quiet times; perhaps folks would offer to say the boring times or in the mundane. I find there is even excitement in an ordinary - like a coffee or tea mug, preferably with a chip above the white-tarnished-a-bit handle. The cuppa joe or tea can be the start of a good day is my hope. Tea, or Herbata in Polish, is popular the world over, especially in Poland.
While I was in Poland last spring, my cousin Anna gifted me a beautiful box of two cups and saucers the day before I left my ancestral home of Ostrów Mazowiecka. Now, these were no ordinary cups and saucers. It started with a beautifully designed box that matched what was inside. While opening the heavy box, I had no clue what was inside. My fleeting initial thought was, how the heck was I going to get this home? I had NO room left in my small carry-on suitcase, and my backpack was filled to the gills with my tech necessities. I hope the look on my face was the surprise and gratefulness of the present (it was!).
Before opening the now unwrapped box, a hush fell over the room filled with my cousins and their families for my goodbye send-off. They were all excited for me as I carefully removed the lid and the tissue paper that encased the two exquisite tea cups and saucers. Big smiles like high fives all around the room when I exclaimed, in my best Polish, Kochałem ich, or I LOVED them! Then came the many dziękuję bardzos (Thank you very much).
Before I finish the rest of this story, Anna’s sister, Renata, with whom I stayed while in Ostrów, sent a box to my home with everything I could not take in my suitcase - including these exquisite tea cups! Whew!
Once home, I kept them cozy in their box in my dining room. The beautifully decorated box was a bright spot in my day when I glanced at it from time to time, usually perched over my sewing machine. Then, a couple of weeks ago, my thought was to take them out of hiding and start using them. Why not? What was I waiting for?
Now, these charming cups and saucers grace my kitchen countertop, much to my delight - even my daughter commented on how pretty they are (she’s quite the minimalist).
Writing about the mundane, as in a teacup (or as I do with shoes and sweaters - and plan to share those too), brings me great joy because that is where, as I said above, the living truly lies. Even better is when we share a cup of tea (coffee) with a friend or loved one - and the conversations and insights we gather from each other become...priceless.
What is your teacup story?
Could this be a thing? Teacup Stories?
I’ll ponder a little more…
bSoleille!
Terri
