Irrational fears

...about shelves, that is. Ever since the open shelf carrying my numerous mugs and tea pots came out of the wall, I've had this irrational fear that ALL the shelves at home may do the same. 

I still can't bear to throw out the broken shards. These were mugs accumulated since moving out from home. There were also tea pots. Some were gifted to me, others I had picked out for one reason or another. All held a special place in my heart. 

Who would have thought the shelf could be so shoddily built??

I've been slow to rebuild my mug collection. And tea pots. How do you replace a Snoopy mug from Japan? Specialty mugs from travels? I look for well balanced, large, and "meaningful" mugs. My mugs are at least 14 oz. I don't buy mugs that come in a set either - no box store mug sets for me. It will take me a few more years to accumulate mugs again. I'm cool with that. It's not the journey ahead that saddens me. It's the loss, the memories of how I got each piece, the pieces of me that were ME between moving out and getting married. 

I'm reminded of my broken mugs daily, as I reach for a fresh mug every morning. So few to choose from now. 

And now, as I stare at my laundry room racks warily, I hear my hubbie telling me that it's irrational to think they're all weak and shoddy. 

Yeah, well, these shelves were probably all built by the same person. Who didn't reinforce the screws properly, and didn't provide warnings on weight restrictions!

/pouts and stares at racks some more