My enjoyment of tea began when visiting my grandmother as a child. She would have a canister of Lipton instant tea with lemon in her pantry. I would put more than the allotted single scoop in my cup in order to have more sweetness. My iced tea probably had the most lemon and sugar than many cups of tea combined. I also remember adding ice cubes to make it chilled. When drinking the tea, it was refreshing and made myself be present in the moment while watching The Golden Girls with grandma. (Yes, I am singing the theme song in my mind! “Thank you for being a friend…”)
A cup of tea brings calm and peace. Taking the time to steep tea takes effort. While preparing the tea, it brings a calm to the fast-pace speed of our lives. Most of the time I get my favorite Mud Pie tea cup out which says “Par-tea With Me.” I purchased that cup some time ago and its one of my favorite dishware pieces. I love Mud Pie products due to their whimsical sayings. When I drink tea from my Mud Pie teacup, it makes me think of the little celebrations in life. The quiet in the moment, the birds singing, or a friends phone call are some of the celebrations that bring the party in life.
I remember going to friends homes in the summer and seeing the big glass jars of sun tea on their patio. It would sit in the sun throughout the day as we played. It took time and to wait for the sun tea to be complete. The tea bags would be dangling into the jars, hanging by the strings on the rim. When the tea would be ready, I remember the jars being carried into the house while waiting for the sweet tea to be poured into glasses.
The things we pursue or goals we want take time. It makes it sweeter to reach the goals or dreams we want to achieve. Like a cup of tea, we need to savor the time and celebrate the parties or moments in life. There is something about a party. The joy, togetherness, food, music, conversation and laughter are some of the aspects of celebrating we enjoy.
Today the boys were outside working on their treehouse and I was siting in a lawnchair. I turned on Spotify and had Earth, Wind and Fire playing on the speaker. We love music in our home and listen to music genres ranging from jazz to Elton John, Gloria Estefan and Dolly Parton. It makes me laugh when my sons start singing songs at random. Most often they sing, “Bring Me A Higher Love” by Steve Winwood.
While outside, my oldest son said “Mom, you are looking around and staring at the trees. I shared how sometimes it is nice to ponder and take in the moment. The trees were shading the area overhead and I was viewing the woods, while the boys building in their treehouse.
Lately, I have been pondering things. I am a list maker, goal setter, worrier, and had to take a step back of in these times of change. Roshi says, “It is very deep to have a cup of tea.” I think when we drink tea, we take our time, pause, reflect and take in that calmness and focus on the joy in the journey.
In the winter, I enjoy a hot cup of tea while in the summer there is nothing better than iced tea. One of my friends has a store filled with a variety of coffee and tea. I enjoy picking out different flavors of tea and mixing them for different combinations.
What are things you celebrate? The small and the big things matter. Think about the ways to celebrate in your life. Maybe it’s partaking in cup of tea, calling a friend, reminiscing memories, and dreaming of things to come.
Here are some of my favorite teas!
- Arnold Palmer Tea-Click on my cooking board on Pinterest to see a recipe-See my Pinterest Page info at the end of this post!
- McAllister’s Sweet Tea-I sure wish we had a McAllister’s here!
- Mama’s Sweet Tea-If you have a chance to visit a Mama’s Sweet Tea food truck, you will enjoy their sweet tea! Check them out on Facebook at Mama’s Sweet Tea
- Lipton Ice Tea-There is still a nostalgia of opening the canister and seeing the puff of tea appear! It has to be the lemon kind of course!
