This morning I had a couple of loads of laundry done and a paper written and submitted well before noon. Anything done before noon on a Saturday is a milestone for me, but I guess all the extra rest I got this week recovering from a cold has left me feeling energized.
And my daughter was not here to watch That's So Raven or Hannah Montana with... I feel kind of funny watching those on my own.
Since it's right at the end of the month, Old Mother Hubbard's cupboards are pretty bare. Everyone is out for the day except for me and the middle (and that kid is happy with Cheerios's for lunch), so I thought I would make a pot of tea and finish off some biscuits with the remainder of the pumpkin butter I bought a while back in the Smoky Mountains.
How amazing that the simplest things can turn out to be such a treat! I took my plate full of tea cup, biscuits, and butter and made my way out to the front porch with the cat close behind. I've gotten so accustomed to the front porch swing I forgot how much I enjoy sitting in a rocking chair. I thought about that first Christmas we were here and my mom, dad, and grandma came out to visit. My dad insisted on getting those chairs (2) and a small table to go with them. I can still see my little ole grandma sitting on the swing holding her bad foot up in the air. She was so small and though we didn't know it at the time, she didn't have a full month left on this earth. Maybe that's why I love this porch so much. Good memories, lasting moments that the Lord graced us with.
Anyway, the biscuits have been finished off and my tea cup is about empty. The neighbors next door are planting more bushes and putting down mulch that I am certain will be washed downhill with the next good rain. A neighbor across the street is arguing with a Direct TV guy about how he "shouldn't have to pay" for something or other. Another neighbor just waved as she pulled up to get her mail. A few motorcycles have went by and several vehicles with bicycles on the back. Just another beautiful Saturday.
In a few hours I'll have to fight the interstate traffic to go pick up our youngest. Another few hours after that and I'll have to sit through several stoplights to go pick up our oldest. It will be right around that time my husband will come home wondering what's for supper. Until that time, though, I think I'm going to sit right here and have another cup of tea.
And possibly watch the neighbor and the Direct TV guy get into a fight.
Showing posts with label tea time. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tea time. Show all posts
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Katelyn's Tea
Somewhere I have a book (and at the moment I have no idea where), but somewhere I have a book that is basically a poem written by a mother to her daughter. It's all about growing from a baby to a girl to a woman and so forth. It really is a touching poem. I just have no idea where it is at the moment.
What got me thinking about it was, of course, my own daughter. Twelve years old and at times pushing sixteen (at least in her head), I sometimes forget what a remarkable young lady she is turning out to be.
I had three papers to write today. Partly due to procrastination and partly due to an unbelievable amount of required reading, we skipped church today just so a stressed-out mom could get a jump start on her homework. I dutifully swallowed my Prilosec, drank a couple of cups of coffee, spent some idle time on the front porch swing, then prepared myself for the drudgery that lay ahead. Little did I know the surprise that was in store for me.
"If you get started, Mom, I'll make us some tea and biscuits," said my girl as she watched me still squandering my time chatting with my own mom on Facebook. "Four minutes then you need to tell Granny you've got to work."
Who's the adult here?
I did as I was told as she headed into the kitchen. Just as I began to hear the sounds of pots and pans rattling around, she closed the door to the screened-in porch where I was sitting so I wouldn't guess what she was up to. I was getting the feeling there was going to be more to this tea than just biscuits. Sure enough, it wasn't long before some pretty sweet smells started drifting through the open kitchen windows. I was about two hundred words short of finishing the first paper when she opened the door and announced, "Ready!"
I hate stopping my work when I am that close to finishing. Sometimes the train of thought that I am on is hard to pick up again, but what do you do? You hit "save" and go have tea... that's what you do.
Did I say I thought there would be more to it than biscuits and tea? Well, let me tell you what I saw: a three-tiered tray with tiny biscuits on top complete with a jar of pumpkin butter (my fall favorite), a middle plate with tiny ham sandwiches cut into triangles, and a bottom dessert plate with freshly baked brownies topped with a Hershey's square of chocolate (boy, was I glad I had went to the store before the weekend!). Two pots of tea ~ chocolate mint for her; apple crunch for me, completed the table that had been set with Grandma's china along with milk and sugar. The best part of all? A young lady (who to me is still a little girl) beaming with pride. When I asked if I could take her picture for Granny, she didn't hesitate one second. She was very pleased with what she done.
That was, without a doubt, the best half hour of the day. Everything was soooo good, I ate one biscuit too many, and just when I finished off a brownie (a center piece, she suggested), she jumped up to get the final course... two tiny teacups filled with ice-cream. The girl literally thought of everything.
It goes without saying that any work I had to do was a breeze after that. When I finally finished everything up around eight o'clock this evening, she said, "Wow, Mom. When you have that much to do you are usually working on it till late."
"It was that tea," I told her. "All that tea and goodies really motivated me and helped me get everything done."
She just smiled as she went back to reading her book. "Yep. I knew that would do the trick."
Little does she know that it was the GIRL behind the tea and goodies that did the trick.
If I ever find that book, I just might read it and cry. Thank you, God, for my daughter and thank you, Mom, for helping me to become the kind of mother that would have a daughter like her.
What got me thinking about it was, of course, my own daughter. Twelve years old and at times pushing sixteen (at least in her head), I sometimes forget what a remarkable young lady she is turning out to be.
I had three papers to write today. Partly due to procrastination and partly due to an unbelievable amount of required reading, we skipped church today just so a stressed-out mom could get a jump start on her homework. I dutifully swallowed my Prilosec, drank a couple of cups of coffee, spent some idle time on the front porch swing, then prepared myself for the drudgery that lay ahead. Little did I know the surprise that was in store for me.
"If you get started, Mom, I'll make us some tea and biscuits," said my girl as she watched me still squandering my time chatting with my own mom on Facebook. "Four minutes then you need to tell Granny you've got to work."
Who's the adult here?
I did as I was told as she headed into the kitchen. Just as I began to hear the sounds of pots and pans rattling around, she closed the door to the screened-in porch where I was sitting so I wouldn't guess what she was up to. I was getting the feeling there was going to be more to this tea than just biscuits. Sure enough, it wasn't long before some pretty sweet smells started drifting through the open kitchen windows. I was about two hundred words short of finishing the first paper when she opened the door and announced, "Ready!"
I hate stopping my work when I am that close to finishing. Sometimes the train of thought that I am on is hard to pick up again, but what do you do? You hit "save" and go have tea... that's what you do.
Did I say I thought there would be more to it than biscuits and tea? Well, let me tell you what I saw: a three-tiered tray with tiny biscuits on top complete with a jar of pumpkin butter (my fall favorite), a middle plate with tiny ham sandwiches cut into triangles, and a bottom dessert plate with freshly baked brownies topped with a Hershey's square of chocolate (boy, was I glad I had went to the store before the weekend!). Two pots of tea ~ chocolate mint for her; apple crunch for me, completed the table that had been set with Grandma's china along with milk and sugar. The best part of all? A young lady (who to me is still a little girl) beaming with pride. When I asked if I could take her picture for Granny, she didn't hesitate one second. She was very pleased with what she done.
That was, without a doubt, the best half hour of the day. Everything was soooo good, I ate one biscuit too many, and just when I finished off a brownie (a center piece, she suggested), she jumped up to get the final course... two tiny teacups filled with ice-cream. The girl literally thought of everything.
It goes without saying that any work I had to do was a breeze after that. When I finally finished everything up around eight o'clock this evening, she said, "Wow, Mom. When you have that much to do you are usually working on it till late."
"It was that tea," I told her. "All that tea and goodies really motivated me and helped me get everything done."
She just smiled as she went back to reading her book. "Yep. I knew that would do the trick."
Little does she know that it was the GIRL behind the tea and goodies that did the trick.
If I ever find that book, I just might read it and cry. Thank you, God, for my daughter and thank you, Mom, for helping me to become the kind of mother that would have a daughter like her.
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