Travel Mugs

 Year 8-Day 278: Today, I am grateful for travel mugs.

Oh, how I love warm beverages. I drink hot coffee and chai all year long. A hot tea at the end of a long day is always a good idea. Hot cider (or wassail) and hot cocoa are beverages that make winter months more tolerable and perhaps even something to happily anticipate (I can't believe I just wrote that, but somehow it is true). All of these favorites are can be enjoyed in a travel mug. 

Some days, the morning slips by without time for a second cup of coffee. The travel mug is the answer. Heading to an outdoor activity this fall, a travel mug is a welcome companion. Eight years of gratitude and this is the first time the travel mug has made the post. It is long overdue. 

A valuable life lesson comes from learning to travel light. Traveling light does not mean the important things are left behind. Skip the tooth brush... take the travel mug. Okay, better keep the toothbrush, too. 

Mark 6:7-9 reminds me of Jesus's instructions to the disciples to travel light as they spread the gospel:

"And he called his twelve disciples together and began sending them out two by two, giving them authority to cast out evil spirits. He told them to take nothing for their journey except a walking stick—no food, no traveler’s bag, no money. He allowed them to wear sandals but not to take a change of clothes."

That is pretty light! I fear I would have been a disappointment to Jesus in their shoes. I like to plan for plenty of choices when I pack. 

Then again, I have traveled light and found it somewhat freeing. One carry on bag for a week long trip to Florida can be done... if I borrow extra space in the Love of my Life's bag. Still, some items are deemed essential. Travel mugs are that kind of item. 

In recent years, two of my travel mugs are used exclusively for water. Keeping the mugs full of water helps me reach my hydration goals. Water is life... coffee is life preserving. 

 Today, I am grateful for travel mugs.