The "LD" Trophy

I remember in high school, I had this Spanish teacher who was constantly either pregnant or on maternity leave. She was super nice, but it always kind of annoyed me that she was constantly drinking out of this gigantic Northside Hospital cup. It had a teddy bear on it, and was clearly a prize she got during one of her trips to the maternity ward. The trend continued through my adult life, as I have met countless moms who covet their big gray plastic mug with the bendy straw. Some moms use it daily, while others keep it in a top cabinet. Either way, I have yet to meet a mom who doesn't still have her mug.

When I went to the hospital with Roxanne, it wasn't quite what I had always pictured. There was no late night call to my doctor, no long hours of laboring at home, just a leisurely drive to the hospital on the morning of my scheduled induction. However, the exit from the hospital was probably the same as most other new moms. Fear, anxiety, relief, exhaustion, and shameless thievery. My sister, who has two toddlers, was urging me to get as much of everything as I could. The way she explained it, all of the supplies that were in my recovery room were dedicated to me and Roxanne. And if we didn't use them, they would just get thrown out. This made complete sense to me. And I pulled out all the stops. I pretty much packed everything that wasn't chained down into the free diaper bag I got from one of those sneaky formula companies. I actually still have some of that stuff. But I'm not ashamed to admit that my most prized possession is my big gray plastic mug. It has a purple rose on it. And I somehow lost the tip of the straw that seals it off. I haven't used it in months, but I will never never get rid of it. If I have another baby, I will keep that mug, too. It brings me back to those first days when we were in the hospital, and both terrified and elated. I drank cranberry juice on ice from that great big mug. Even if it stays on top of my fridge next to the semi-broken blender, it's mine for life.