The end of an era

I'm drinking my last cup of coffee from my mom's favorite coffee mug. I kept it too long and now it has to go. It's a plain cream-colored cup with simple writing across one side that says, "have a nice day, ass hole." My mom loved that cup, even with the misspelling.

I used it for a long time before Ellie could read, and once she could, I put it behind all the other mugs on the shelf and just kept it there. A few weeks ago, Ellie was up on the counter looking for a mug while I was in the other room. She yelled, "Mom! You have to get rid of this cup! It's inappropriate!" I knew which one she was talking about, of course. I yelled back right away, "OK! Put it back!" And she yelled, "It says have a nice day asshole!" I cringed and yelled, "I know! It's not a nice word! Don't say that word anymore! Just put it back!"

So it's time for it to get wrapped up and stuck in the basement. Someday when she's older I will present the mug to her and she'll either think it's stupid and throw it in the trash or she'll have my mom's crass sense of humor and she'll keep it as a cherished item to be passed down to her children.