Just a moment ago, I was online reading the morning stream of newsflashes on the Internet. One of the articles was about planting herbs for tea and ways to share it.
“If you want a child’s undivided attention, host a tea party,” it began.
So began my own personal memories on the subject of tea parties. I thought of my mom’s love of tea and how she made a point of introducing me to that delight by having me visit my Aunt Vicky on my fathers side. My dad’s family would quietly refer to her as “Crazy Aunt Vicky” and she was the wife of my Uncle Mike, one of my Dad’s three brothers. She wasn’t “crazy” Aunt Vicky to me, just Aunt Vicky. And from what we were heard as eavesdropping kids, Aunt Vicky had mental problems because she had sadly been the one to find her mother dead in bed one morning. They had been very close. She was young and impressionable and she naturally took it very hard.
My personal memories of her are of going to her very neat and lacy apartment from about ages 4–7 for an occasional Sunday afternoon tea. She had a butler for a short time, but she served while he stood off to the side. She wore tiny white gloves over her slim hands. Standing only about 4’ 8” tall, or short, as the case may be, she was very compact and small. She told me stories about the tea and where it came from. Exotic names passed from her lips each visit. Some Sundays I liked the teas, and some I did not. I wasn’t fond of a special Russian black tea she served once, but I loved a Tibetan tea she asked me to “explore.” The tea was always accompanied by delicate finger sandwich squares on a beautiful China dish.
God bless all of the mothers this Mother’s Day. If you have embraced a child, whether that child was your own or not, you have embraced Love.
Happy Mother’s Day!❤️