Mugs

Mugs are universally acknowledged as a tool used for drinking hot, steamy cups of goodness. (Credit to Jane Austen for the phrase "universally acknowledged".) I have come to the conclusion that I wouldn't be half as excited to drink coffee if it were in a boring mug. Some mornings I will wake up, bleary eyed, and walk into the kitchen. I'll see my dad standing immobile, looking into our kitchen cabinets in deep contemplation, and I'll know.
He is deciding which mug to use. It's in the family genes, I promise you. I always need to take at least thirty seconds to decide which mug will hold my hot beverage of choice.
Will it be the Thomas Kinkade landscape? The Valentine's Day mug that I bought for my mom in the second grade? Will it be a small mug? Do I have enough coffee left for a big mug? If I sip tea, should I perhaps use a tea cup instead? But then there's that mug from Aunt Karen I received for Christmas that has beautiful flowers painted onto it...
One day I brought my dad a cup of coffee in a mug. He took a sip, nodded, and said, "Great choice, Abby."
"Thanks," I replied. "Columbia Fair Trade, from Giant... I ground the beans myself...."
"No," my dad interrupted, "not the coffee. The mug. Nice sized handle, clean white color. The perfect mug."