SOLSC 16 of 31 - Where is my Coffee Mug?

Join me this month as I write a slice of my life each day this March and join many others sharing slices at twowritingteachers.com.  My students will also be slicing this month and you can find links to their daily blogs HERE.  

I can't find my coffee mug. It's a dark metal Starbucks travel mug that holds a grande drink, with flip-lip and handle. I usually drink with my left hand, so my right can do important things like steer or change the radio station or grade papers. I actually lose it quite frequently, setting it down somewhere during the school day to do the various teacher-type things I do.  Then, a little portion of my brain is busy trying to find it or remember where I put it. It always finds its way back to me, usually long after the coffee has gone cold. Those guilty sips of cold coffee are sometimes the best.

Bu I know I lost it last week when I wasn't at school. I had jury duty so my routine was mixed up. I also got sick during that week and my weekend was a haze of tissue, late night TV and a cough. I remember taking the mug to the courthouse the first two days and then deciding not to since I didn't want to lose it. Did I leave it there, under my juror seat or the Jury Assembly Room?

Not my mug but kinda close. 

I have other mugs at home, although I rarely drink hot beverages there. Mostly tea and I use smaller mugs for that. Ceramic ones that I can use to heat up my hands or warm my fingers before typing another slice or flipping the channel on the remote.

My LARGE "Olathe Pirates" mug, a hold over from my last teaching job, has been my school coffee mug this past week. It is shorter but wider, holds the same amount of coffee but fits better in the coffee maker at school. While harder to knock over than my missing mug, it slops more readily during fast or unsteady maneuvering through the school day.  Also, with the number of soft projectiles I send out into the classroom, that eventually come flying back, a mug with a tight lid is necessary.

It's likely under a seat in my car, or among the things I hear sliding and mixing gently in the back as I bank around corners and brake at stoplights. I've sort of looked, but usually in the dimness that is my garage before I head out or after I've pulled in. To be honest, I bet I could find it with five minutes of good effort. But for now, the mystery of it's location is collection of fleeting moments each day, as I use a mug different than I'm used to or just think, "I should really find that mug."

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jdblundell/3115989841/">Jonathan D. Blundell</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">cc</a>