A Special Coffee Mug

Hanging on the mug rack in my kitchen is a gray coffee mug with a picture of basket of grapes and grape vines.  That mug was picked out 30 years ago by one of my sons as a Christmas gift for his grandmother.  (Has it really been that long ago?)  He selected that specific mug because his grandmother had a row of grape vines in her back yard, and he liked going out with her to pick grapes.  My mother loved that mug and drank her morning coffee from it for many years; today I often have an afternoon cup of tea in it.  Someday I'll pass the mug on to my son or one of his children.  Even if it only serves to hold pencils on someone's desk, I want the recipient to know the story of "Grandmother's Grape Vines", of the woman who loved her garden, and of that little boy who spied that mug at a school fundraiser.

The family stories we share can be as simple as telling about a coffee mug.  If I thought my family expected a 300-page tome of family history as the result of my hours of research, I'd be in a state of panic, but it is easy to reflect on that coffee mug.  I can write a few paragraphs, add a picture of the mug and one of my mother, putting it all in a "Family Keepsakes" scrapbook I've thinking of making.  This way, it won't be just an old coffee mug from Nana's house, it can be a connection between generations.  

Are there some small stories you want to share with your family?