A Spot of Tea

Friday ... check.
Mom ... check.
Carly ... check.
Grandma ... check.
Tea ... check.
English accents ... check.
There is nothing like sipping tea with my favorites. My mom booked us to go to the Aubrey Rose Tea Room yesterday before my sister and I go back to school next week. From the moment I got the email from my mom ... "Would you like to have tea next Friday at 11? I'm going to book it..." I have been eagerly anticipating the day. Ladies tea. The four of us.

There is something about tea that brings women together (or men, but mostly women). When a woman says to another woman, "would you like to have tea?" it means more than that. Tea time is a time for laughter, a time to relax and sip the daily stresses of life away, a time to reconnect and share stories with each other, a time to pull out the English accents (if only I was as good as my sister). Tea time is a break in the day. An hour (or two) of peace and joy.

I knew this. Because we have had tea before. And so I waited with excitement for tea time to fellowship with my mom, grandma, and little sister.
And we laughed. And drank tea. And ate sandwiches and dainty fruit slices and desserts and scones. And looked around the cute store filled with tea pots and tea cups and all sorts of beautiful gifts. And drank more tea. And talked about life.
Grandma told us her story of killing a rattlesnake outside her house with her two shovels. My sweet beautiful Grandma. Needless to say, Carly and I were very impressed. And Mom piped in with a story about when she was younger and how Grandma had saved her cat, Flower, from a rattlesnake with her shovel. And Grandma told us of her most proud attack with her long-handled clippers. And we laughed and laughed. And I thought, I hope I will be brave enough to kill the rattlesnake to save my kid's kitty one day, just like my grandma.
And then my sister told us about her last day at work - she worked in a vet boarding office. And she explained the fabrics she gave the office to use for dog bandanas (each dog gets a bandana), and I thought how proud of my little sister I am. Everyone at work loves her, and I thought, man and they don't even know the whole Carly like I do. We listened to her as she told us funny stories about the animals, and we all laughed.
And my mom talked about the specialness of tea time and these special moments, and we all pondered the blessing of three generations coming together over tea. And I thanked the Lord for tea time, and for special moments.