Spinning teacups

The delicate China teacups and saucers that we got as young newlyweds have been pushed to the dark recesses of our kitchen cabinet. The bright pastel coffee cups that my wife bought three years ago because she was tired of us living like a couple of poor 20-somethings have been pushed to the back too.

The big mug that we used to love sipping coffee on lazy Saturday mornings broke a couple of years ago. Another mug that had two handles and the words “Can you handle turning 50?” that we “borrowed” from my mother-in-law has come and gone too.

Mickey Mouse, though, still survives. I guess I should say Mickey and Minnie still survive. 

A matching set

We have two Disney themed coffee cups that are more than 20 years old and have outlasted everything else in our kitchen cupboard. The color has faded on them, but they don’t have a scratch or chip on them.

The first one is Minnie Mouse and it says “Marvelous Mom.” Our daughter bought the cup at a school Christmas bazaar for my wife when she was in second grade. When our son was in kindergarten a year later, he gifted the matching one for me that says “Dad, you are my star.”

Made of steal

The cups are smaller than most mugs nowadays, maybe 10 to 12 ounces compared to today’s gargantuan mugs that hold anywhere from 16 to 24 ounces. Our smaller cups though have helped serve and get us through many bleary-eyed mornings and family dinners and refuse to break. I could grab one and throw it against the wall and it wouldn’t break. The cup would instead give the Mad Tea Party ride at Disneyland a run for its money — bouncing off the wall, spinning in a circle on the counter, and coming to a complete stop back in the kitchen cabinet.

“Please unbuckle your seat buckle, lift up on the lap bar, proceed to the exit, and enjoy the rest of your day at the Magic Kingdom!”

Where dreams come true

The cups are indestructible. We may not have nice matching mugs that are up to Martha Stewart’s demanding standards or even what you’d find in Starbucks, Dunkin or Caribou, but we’ve got ones that would make Walt Disney proud.

Walt once said “Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age, dreams are forever.” The cups are just like that, they remind my wife and I, that big or small, what matters most is our family’s love.