Our Dear Mrs Reynolds

Story of a Teacup August 10, 2009

Many stories begin with “Once Upon a Time”, this story does not. Unlike many other stories, this one did not happen once upon a time, it occurs, everyday, in every city, in every state, in every country, and has happened for as long as most of us can remember.

Franklin had a teacup, this was not just any teacup this was his favorite teacup. Franklin loved everything about this teacup, especially the way the handle curved down to reach the base. From the first time he saw this teacup he knew it was his favorite. Like most people, Franklin had drunk from other teacups, but this one was special.

Everyone knows that sometimes we drop out favorite teacups, sometimes they bounce and are unharmed and sometimes they may chip and crack. Over the years Franklin’s teacup had developed ordinary chips and cracks but was still a fantastic cup. It still looked great and held any beverage that Franklin chose to drink.

One day, Franklin, frustrated with life decided to take his frustration out on his favorite teacup. Franklin threw his cup across the room and it broke in several places. Immediately he understood the mistake he had made and gathered the pieces and glued it back together. Franklin quickly filled the cup with tea to make sure it was ok. The cup was mostly ok, it looked a little worn and appeared to still hold tea. Franklin noticed a small leak and he swore to never again toss his favorite cup.

Over time Franklin began to resent his cup for its leak and put it up on a shelf. Franklin still needed his tea so he would being to use other tea cups, as the leaky one would simply not do.

After some time had passed, Franklin missed his favorite teacup. He took it down off the shelf, dusted it off, and used it once more. Franklin declared this cup was still his favorite despite it’s leak. It was not long before the leak grew irritating and he began to blame the cup for being old and worn.

Once again Franklin grew irritated with life and on top of it his favorite teacup was leaky! Forgetting his promise he tossed the cup again. This time the cup shattered into hundreds of tiny pieces. Franklin was angry at his cup for breaking again and left it there in many pieces.

The teacup had friends who saw it there in pieces and picked it up and glued it back together. The teacup was once again whole, some pieces were missing, and it would never again hold liquid of any kind.

Franklin saw his cup was whole again and once again remembered how it was his favorite. He tried to fill it with tea. The teacup would no longer hold tea. Franklin tried to fill it with water, it would not hold water. Franklin tried to show his teacup that he could treat other teacups with care, but the teacup still refused to hold liquid.

After a few months of attempting to use his teacup, Franklin realized that his favorite cup could not longer hold liquid no matter what he did and was no longer usable as a teacup.

So now this cup sits on a shelf, chipped, broken, and hardly resembling a teacup at all. This cup will never again hold tea or any other liquid.

If you have a favorite teacup, please treat it with care and respect. Sometimes chips and cracks are unavoidable but it is never ok to take out your frustrations on it. You can only glue a teacup back together so many times before it will no longer be your teacup.