The day started like any other busy weekday morning. My husband and I did our usual dance around the corner of the kitchen while we made breakfast for our crew. Once everyone had their food, Matt headed to the back to get ready for work, while the girls and I spent 30 minutes coming to terms with the fact that we had to be awake. (Not a morning person in the bunch!) Every morning, at least one of my three girls tries to convince me that she can’t go to school. This particular morning, it was my 6 year-old. She had a bit of cough, but who doesn’t this time of year? As I watched her sit on the potty with her eyes half-closed, I knew it was time to get out the thermometer. And sure enough, she had a fever.
Matt had the typical parent reaction when you realize that all plans for the next few days are destroyed, including our anniversary dinner the next night. For some reason, I didn’t let it phase me this time. Maybe it was because life had been so busy lately, and I was really missing my girl. I offered to be the one to stay home with her and set up her spot on the couch.
She spent a good part of the morning binging her favorite show on Netflix while I putzed around the house, taking advantage of a mid-week chance to check some things off my to-do list. She perked up after lunch and was sitting at the kitchen table chatting with me while I cleaned the kitchen. She coughed and said her throat hurt, and the first thing that popped into my head was to offer her a cup of tea. Her eyes opened wide. “In a teacup?” she asked. Why not? So, I pulled out a fancy tea cup from my set of wedding china (that has never been used!) and made her a cup of herbal tea with honey. “You have to have a cup, too,” she said. The urge to say that I had to finish emptying the dishwasher almost made me say no, but once again I said, “Why not?”
I always thought it was silly when I would see characters in movies and on TV offer a cup of tea to someone who was having a rough time or not feeling well. Who actually does that? Does it really help? Well, I’m here to tell you that it was perfect. We sipped our tea and chatted about anything and everything. As I watched her expressive little face and listened to her tell me how she wished the world would be, I caught myself picturing us doing this at every phase of her life. I saw a lifetime of cups of tea at the kitchen table getting us through years of milestones and heartache like her first break-up, the inevitable moment when she tells me she wants to go away to college (Please, don’t leave me!), or maybe even that she is pregnant. I felt so lucky in that moment to know that I was at the start of this wonderful journey with my three girls, and I couldn’t wait for our next cup of tea.
I guess there is something to this whole cup of tea at a kitchen table thing. It really did make both of us feel better, and the face to face interaction was so refreshing. So, don’t fight it the next time you get the urge to have a cup of tea. I promise you won’t regret it.
