By Aimee C. Trafton 
I do not understand how people can get through life without coffee. For me, it is fuel, it gives me energy, and makes me so very happy! Flavored coffee is the best, with lots of milk and sugar. Black coffee? Please, don’t even go there.
My mom always loved her coffee too. She would joke that she drank roughly a pot a day, which did not surprise me at all. Mum also loved coffee mugs. If you didn’t know what to buy my mother for a gift, a coffee mug was always a safe bet. Preferably one with a funny expression on it. The more sarcastic, the better! Also, anything with pigs on it (her favorite animals, other than my two pooches).
After she passed away, I cleaned out her apartment. She had so many coffee mugs, I wasn’t sure what to do with them all. Of course, I wanted them all for myself, but I knew I didn’t have enough space (as most of my cupboards were already filled with funny mugs Mum had given me as gifts).
So I donated some, gave some to her family and friends, and kept the rest. Most of the mugs were smaller than what I was used to drinking out of (as I pretty much need a Thermos for my morning wake-up coffee). So I started a new tradition.
Each day, anywhere between mid-morning and mid-afternoon, I have (yet another) coffee. But for this particular caffeine boost, I go into my cupboard and pick out one of Mum’s favourite mugs.
And I sit down and have coffee with my mom again.
Originally published on the author’s blog
by Nikki Pennington 
by Meghan Riordan Jarvis 
