Tea for “Three”

Dear Jenny,

Tea for 3

Today I went to visit my family with just me, no kids.  Do you know how long it has been since I have been to New Hampshire without my tribe?  Let’s just put it this way, I can’t remember.  I miss not having them all in tow, but there are definitely some advantages to flying solo.

One of the cool things about this visit is that I was totally “Aunt Kate.”  Usually I am “mom” first, and then “Aunt Kate”.  A lot of times there is not enough “me” to go around, and the “aunt” part gets lost in the shuffle.  So I decided, since I left the “mom” at home, I should make the most of my aunt status; I stopped at a gift shop along the way and bought all of my nieces and nephews maple lollipops.  It was great when I arrived and I got to give them their surprise.  For once it was me getting to hand over the sweets and my sisters giving me the hairy eyebrow.  In the past it has been the other way around.   But hey, what are aunts for?

Then I had tea for “three” with my 2 nieces.   Tea for three..how simple, how nice, how intimate.  I have always enjoyed sitting down with someone, anyone and having tea or coffee.  Granted, it’s a little different with a 3 and a 1 year old, as opposed to folks my own age or older, but it is still tea.  Tea provides a warm medium that says, it’s time to talk.  Come, let’s share and warm ourselves with this drink. 

Today, the conversation revolved around the actual process of making tea at my nieces house.  Then I learned about the game Candy Land, and that “we really should play it sometime, Aunt Kate.”  I got to eyewitness the one year old, drinking and pouring “tea”, all over herself.  I wondered why my sister covered their cute little table with a bath towel–now I know.  And we also talked about my nieces “chick-a-doodles”.  That’s what she calls her real live chickens.  It was nice because it was all stuff that was important to her.  And that is what made it important to me.

What I am saying, is that if you want to connect and learn about someone’s life, sit down and have a cup of tea.  What a great way to listen.  It doesn’t have to be tea; it could be coffee, lemonade, or any other drink.  What matters is the fact that you took the time, and enjoyed each other’s company. In the course of everyday life, it means so much.

I’ve always believed that the greatest gift that you can give anyone in this world is your time…why not spend it over a cup of tea

Thanks nieces, for sharing a cup of tea with me!

With Love,

“Aunt Kate”

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