Tea Time

My friend R.J. wrote about her experience with tea on her blog R.J's Place the other day. It was an interesting post and reminded me how much I like tea too. Or is it tea for two?

One of my favorite things to do is enjoy high tea. Part of what makes it special is that I can count on one hand the number of times I have been to high tea, well, two hands at the most.

Is there such a thing as low tea? I have been to smaller places that have a miniature version of high tea. I wonder if that counts?

Anyway, I think my kids got to know my attraction to tea parties when they were wee ones and we had tea time almost every day. Nice tray, tea pot, creamer and sugar bowl, tiny "sammiches", cloth napkins, and cookies. The most important part of this family ritual was the socializing. My son was so shy and my daughters were not, so our tea time was a way for all of us to talk. It didn't happen right away; there were great lulls in the discussions, but gradually they began to learn the art of conversation. Part of that lesson was to learn to listen. Really hear what someone else said, watch their facial expressions, hand gestures, changes in voice.

So it was not a surprise that Mothers Day celebrations were family events that my grown children and then grandchildren arranged at the best places in San Diego that specialized in high tea.

My brother and sister-in-law and I enjoyed high tea in British Columbia at the Fairmont Empress. I also indulged in high tea at the Ritz in London.

Photo courtesy of deviant art.

Living in the this small town has me thinking of the things that I have experienced. I am so grateful for them. There are such great memories of travels and sights. But I am content to live a quiet life here, make friends, enjoy simple activities, be part of a community.

Hey, I wonder if my new friends would like to host high tea at the senior center sometime. Hmmm. Scones, cucumber sandwiches, dainty cookies and candies, herb teas. Maybe we would start a new tradition in town.

Describe A Good Neighbor

What is your idea of a "good neighbor"?

Someone who waves over the back fence?

A neighborhood watch hawk?

A stranger you know by sight only?

A friendly person bearing home baked gifts and a smile to welcome you when you move into the new place?

A party couple hosting loud parties each weekend with the whole neighborhood invited?

People who have gardeners arriving at the crack of dawn to mow, eat the weeds, blow away any leaves, trim hedges with gas clippers?

A person friendly enough to knock on your door just about every week to ask to borrow something?

A person who knocks on the door to see if you are all right when they don't see you for a few days?

More importantly, What kind of neighbor are you?

My Heart's Desire

"Theirs is the stoneless fruit of love
Whose love is returned."


--------Tiruvalluvar, The Kural (one of the most important forms of classical Tamil poetry)


I desire stoneless fruit. Not the kind in the the bowl.

Do you?

Do You Live By The Three RRRs?

Respect For Self.


Respect For Others.


Responsibility For All Your Actions.

Melting

Photo courtesy of freebeautifulphotoscollections.blogspot.com

The ice is melting away
Dripping through my veins
Time heals all wounds

Life goes on with or without me
Days tend to disappear
Time wipes the tears

Smiles happen involuntarily
Chuckles bubble to the surface
Time lessens regrets

Reaching Out Doesn't Cost Anything

The last thing in the evening I would drive to the nearest courier box to drop my business files in the box. The courier service would pick up files at a scheduled time so timing was of the essence. Last minute holdups in my home office would mean I was out the door just in time to drive to the drop box.

One evening I pulled my car out of the garage, swung the car around and headed down an alley to take advantage of the short cut to the drop box. Thankfully I was not going very fast, because a form moved out in front of me. I slowed and then stopped.

A woman dressed in dark colored clothes was holding the hand of her little boy who was also in dark clothes. She was startled because she came out of their back gate and almost walked into my car. I got out of my car and told her it was hard to see her in the dark clothes. I asked her if she had a light color jacket to wear and she said no. So I walked around to my car's side door and retrieved my brand new sparkly white sweat hoodie and handed it to her. I gave it to her and told her to be safe and to please wear the white hoodie when she walked out in the dark.

When I pulled into the parking lot at the drop box, the courier was just unlocking the box to retrieve the files, so he took my files. The small delay was worth it in many ways.

So reaching out doesn't cost anything; refraining from reaching out may cost you amazing blessings.

Children Need Caretakers

An aware parent loves all children he or she interacts with; for you are a caretaker for those moments in time.
--Doc Childre

 A child is not a vessel to be filled, but a lamp to be lit.
--Proverb

Free a child's potential and you will transform him into the world.
--Maria Montessori

Modern cynics and skeptics see no harm in paying those to whom they entrust the minds of their children a smaller wage than is paid to those to whom they entrust the care of their plumbing.
--John F Kennedy

Children are gifts, not a chore. They cannot be ignored or cast aside like old newspapers or used condoms. They are the future of our world. As they are treated is how they will contribute to society when they are grown. If their social understanding is stinted, they will not have the tools to fit in and discover the wonders available to them as adults. How do we get people to understand that if they are not prepared to teach by example and love unconditionally, they must not have children. Does this sound harsh? I am sixty five years old and I am sitting in a place of viewing changes in behaviors and disrespect shown to children by not giving them the chance they deserve to think and decide, and strive to better themselves emotionally and intellectually. The romantic notion to have children is immature and impractical, just as mooning over someone and getting married without much thought or pre-marriage counseling. Most weddings these days are attended by guests who are betting on how long the marriage will last.
Even the bride and groom are using divorce as an option if it does not work out, using divorce as a back up plan as they walk down the aisle. No wonder children do not stand a chance for stability when their parents are so wishy washy. Children are not disposable. They are a precious responsibility.

Consolation

"And because I love this life
I know I shall love death as well.
The child cries out when
From the right breast the mother
Takes it away, in the very next moment
To find in the left one
Its consolation."

----Rabindranath Tagore,
             from Gitanjali (Bengali collection of English poems)

"Consolation" by Steven Lavaggi