Cup Quest

Or Odd Things People Do

I am looking for the perfect coffee cup. It has to be the right size, have the right handle, weight, look, and microwaveable!

How did this begin? I had the perfect cup when I worked for Lincoln Life--it was a freebie, too. It broke, and I have been on a quest to replace this cup for quite awhile. It was a secret at first, and I didn't tell anyone I was doing this in my head. This is not to say this is all I do when I leave my house, but the thought is there when I spy cups at a store. And, of course, when you drink that special cup of coffee in the morning, it has to be an object of comfort!

I finally admitted to family and some friends that this is what I do. Knowing me, they just kept quiet and helped me locate cups when they were with me. I also had to tell them eventually that no one else but me can find it. Getting really strange now, huh? There is a good reason for this as there is with every odd thing I do--believe it or not!

As soon as you tell someone you are looking for that perfect cup, he/she wants to buy you one, maybe as a gift. This is where the problems begins in collecting things if that's what you want to call it. I call it a quest--not always sure if this will be the one, but it's fun, too.

When other people get involved, you begin to get things you would never buy for your collection, and then it doesn't become your thing per se. My mother-in-law has a collection of spoons which started out with every time she traveled somewhere, she bought a spoon. Soon everyone was buying her spoons of places she never went!! Whose collection is it anyway???

I started collecting pumpkins, and my mom went crazy buying them for me. No!! I ended up with grandma and grandpa pumpkins--not what I was doing really. Same with collecting sugar bowls and creamers--stopped that in the bud!

People want to please, I know. But a "collection" or quest is yours to find--where you were at the time, why you bought it, what it means for you, etc. Call it a little personal perk.