Seasons of Life

   There is a season for everything and for us, this season has been about change.  We ushered in year 80 for Mum and prepare to move her “down south” while the Sisters are ready to fledge the nest, my nest, the nest I have created for my family over many years.  Bittersweet is this season….feelings of joy tinged with a touch of sadness.  I am in need of a cup of tea.

     Seasons in life should cause us to pause and take stock, milestones are designed to be observed, rights of passage, commemorated.  Through all the celebrations we’ve had recently, one constant companion has been present - tea.  We toasted Mum’s birthday with a delightful hibiscus/blueberry tisane (she loves purple in case you hadn’t noticed!) and my Dancing Girl and I have vowed to share a pot of Assam each afternoon at 3:30 to count down the days until she leaves for college.  Well, not really counting them down in order to see them past, but more to count them as precious last moments together with her still under my wings.  Tea is sustaining us through this season.

     But tea is not reserved just for the changeable times.  It perfectly accompanies the quotidian moments in life.  It is for sharing joy and accomplishments with others and for bracing us up when we falter.  Tea brings back happy memories, and it helps us forget the sorrows we’ve seen.  It is the first thing the Sisters seek when returning home after a long day out, because tea soothes and revivifies all at the same time.  It feels like home, like a hug, like family. This humble beverage, ubiquitous yet reverent, truly is for every season in life. Whatever season you find yourself in right now,  remember tea and drink abundantly!