Coffee vessels

I went to pour myself coffee
By habit, I opened the cabinet door and reached for the plain square white cup I’ve been using for the last months

I paused
Our possessions had just arrived from Singapore, in eighty cardboard boxes, tightly encased in literal heaps of security tape stacked high in a moving truck
My husband had painstakingly unwrapped the plates, cups and bowls, put them in the dishwasher, made room in our cabinets

Surely, I should use one of the mugs that traveled 10,546 kilometers, over ocean and land, packed by 2 hardworking Indonesian men, hand carried up 3 flights of stairs by 2 hardworking Romanian boys, to be re-united with me in my new kitchen

I opened the mug drawer and examined each of the mugs individually, thinking of which to use
The Austin mug, a favour from my cousin’s wedding, a very church affair
The Cafe du Monde mug, a gift from a former boss after her trip to New Orleans
The panda mug, from my travels to Chengdu in 2007, the tea insert and lid missing
The California mug, palm trees suspended mid-sway in the ceramic air
Mug, mug, mug, travel, travel, travel

I closed the mug drawer and opened the cabinet door
Out came the plain square white cup
In went the coffee