Tea is for Talking

I purposed last year to start having afternoon tea with my daughter once a week. It forces me to put aside the chores that need to be done, the never ending demands of cooking and caring for the home, and just sit back and enjoy my daughter. I also wanted to have a time where we could connect and talk about important things, silly things, questions about life that she has, or things on her mind that are bothering her.... Sometimes we have deep discussions or I am able to impart wisdom to her. Other times I've been able to explain something about the world or subside her fears about something. Sometimes we just talk and enjoy each other's company and our mutual love for all things tea.

My hope is that this habit of having tea will be a constant in our relationship as she grows into a woman and life becomes busy for her as well. I want us to already be at ease with one another when the awkward teen years hit. I want her to always feel comfortable asking her questions or getting encouragement from me over a cup of decaf apricot (our mutual favorite). I pray that our tea times will last long into her adult years and if she has daughters, I hope they can benefit from our time as well or even join us. This is a tradition that I thought through and purposed in my heart to be a priority. It doesn't always happen because life and evil pull me away from being faithful to it.

Dearest Emilee, I hope I can keep our tea times constant through your growing years and that I will not fail you by letting them slack off. Keep asking me "mama, can we have tea?" When you ask me, it causes me to take a deep breath and stop. In my mind I'm thinking of all the things that need to get done today but I quickly remind myself that there are ALWAYS "things" to get done.....and they'll always be waiting for me....but you- you won't wait for me. You keep growing up and I have to be the mom I want to be NOW. Right now, I need to be the image of the mother I long to be in my heart....I have to choose to be her today. And so we stop, we sit, we sip, we talk. And OH how I cherish our talks. I love you little one.