A woman receives votive candle holders but thinks they are drinking glasses.

They came in my Christmas stocking.
Two.
Short, thick, square.

What cute drinking glasses
Washed and waiting on the shelf!
I grabbed one by the top,
Filled it with water,
Then sipped.

Like drool,
the water dripped
from the sides to the floor.

What a strange glass!

Through practice,
I learned to drink from the corner.
An excellent little spout!

Happy birthday to you!
they sang.

“Mom, why are these in your cabinet?”
my daughter asks before she cuts my cake.
She holds the two glasses
Like stop signs in her hands.

I answer with the traditional What?

“Why are the votive candle holders in the cabinet?”
she asks as I step into the kitchen.
Her serious eyes roll upward.
Her smile grows to laughter,
And she tell her siblings,
“Mom thought the votive holders were drinking glasses!”

How was I to know?
No candles came with them.
No labels, no instructions.
They were cute little glasses while they lasted.