How do you start your day? Is it to the jarring cacophony of an alarm? I hope not. I’m lucky to be a naturally early riser, and most mornings at 5 or 5:30am, my eyes pop open and I’m ready to start my day. (The rest of my household disagrees with my schedule, including our dog, Pearl, but that’s another story.) And of course, the first part of my morning ritual is coffee.

And it is here that I make a choice each morning about how to get my day started. The mug that I choose is based on the mood I’m in on that particular day. And I’m really thrown off when the mug I want isn’t there. Currently, I’m rotating between a few favorites. One was a Christmas gift from a staff member and has the first line from a variety of novels covering it. I’m not sure if I like it because it reminds me to read more or because it makes me feel smart. The variety of different lines do help provide a thoughtful dimension to my mornings. My second mug option is a throwback to numismatist pursuits of years past and features a $1000 dollar bill on it. A souvenir from a treasury tour, or something like that. I think I use that mug when I’m in business mode.

And lastly, I most often choose this nondescript, 90s looking mug that’s a horrid aqua color. It’s a larger mug, so great for mornings when I feel like I need an extra dose of caffeine, but that’s not why it’s my favorite. It’s a mug that I got when I took my grandfather on his final trip to Pennsylvania. We ate breakfast a bunch in this little town called Benezette in Elk County, and so I got the mug to remember the trip. It used to have a picture of an elk on it, but that has long since worn away. It doesn’t match a single thing in our kitchen, yet it is one of my favorite mugs. I think I select it when I’m feeling a little nostalgic and thinking back on past adventures.

There is an old proverb that says, “Your day will go the direction that your mouth turns.” I like to think that while we can’t control everything, we do have some choice in how our days go. For me, it starts with strong coffee in the right mug. How about you? What morning rituals help you start a great day? Let’s grab the perfect mug, fill it with our favorite beverage, and get today started. I think it is going to be a great one.

P.S. We hope you are looking forward to our upcoming Plants and Pets event, scheduled for 9am to 1pm on August 20th. To celebrate the dog days of summer, bring your pets to the nursery, and we’ll have a pet photo booth for taking pictures, some refreshment stations for them, as well as learning stations for you about which plants are pet-friendly, both indoors and outdoors. Plus, we’ll have our Summer Yard Sale going on. We’re hoping it will be lots of fun for you and your furry friends.