For Posteri-Tea

I poured the kids cups of tea this morning, as is our custom. I poured L a big serving in her Ariel Mermaid mug. N got a smaller cup in a Peter Rabbit mug. When N came to the table he looked at the two mugs suspiciously. "Which one is mine, Daddy?" he asked.

"Yours is the little Peter Rabbit mug," I answered, purposely mentioning "little" to flush out the protest I was expecting to hear. N considered it for a moment, but didn't say anything. I pushed harder. "I gave you the little Peter Rabbit mug because that used to be my mug when I was growing up and I thought you'd like to use it." He instantly brightened.

"Of course I want that one," he said. And then, sounding a little too rational and competent for his age, said, "Why would you think I wouldn't want it?"

He tucked into his tea and seemed to enjoy it in thoughtful silence. Shortly he spoke again, his eyes fixed off in his thought world. "Maybe when I grow up you can give me this mug, and I can give it to my little boy. And I can tell him this was my Daddy's mug."