Tea, The Beginning

It was in a store window with a sign that read, “Coming Soon.” A marble green tea pot with four little demitasse cups. 

The economy in our small town had taken a hit, and many stores had closed their doors. The town was sad and quiet for many years, but that was slowly changing, and the opening of a new boutique showed promise that things were about to get better.

I anticipated the opening of that shop with the excitement of a little girl. There was something about that tea set that called to me, and I’m so glad it did. It has given me many wonderful years of experiences, friendships, memories and hope during the toughest storms.

My boys were little when I brought the tea set home. We would enjoy tea by candlelight during thunderstorms and pretend we lived in a log cabin on a prairie. It was a great way to bond with them and share a little history.

I enjoyed those tea ceremonies so much that I decided to do a tea for a group of moms that met once a month during the time our children were in pre-school. I had purchased a beautiful set of dishes with lovely pink roses and dainty tea cups. I set them out with a variety of teas. When the moms arrived, I heard one of them announce with excitement that she didn’t care what kind of tea she drank as long as it was out of out of one of those pretty tea cups. That was the beginning of a long friendship with tea.

Years later I would be invited to join The Lapsang Ladies Tea Society. There were eight delightful women who loved to cook, entertain, garden, read, and share the gift of friendship. Each month a different tea lady would host a tea in her home. We’ve bonded over tea and formed relationships that have lasted for years and given us memories that could only be possible with tea.

That was 25 years ago. Since then, I’ve had many adventures with tea. The little green tea set didn’t survive two rough and tumble boys, but the memories did, and I will always be grateful for the little green tea set that called to me from a store window.