Tea - Cure for the Soul

Happy Friday! 

            It’s a happy Friday for me…after a very long week, I’m ready for the weekend.  Also, it’s snowing!  I love the snow, if for no other reason than it gives me an excuse to curl up in my room with a good book, my notebook, and a warm cup of tea.  Is there anything better than watching the snow swirl on the other side of the window above your desk as you curl up in your desk chair, your only companion steaming tea?  I think not.    

            Tea has always been a staple in my life.  The bitter taste, sweetened with a dab of sugar, carries healing powers unlike any other drink.  A sufferer of chronic sinus infections, I discovered early that tea could cure, or at least temporarily ease, the headache or sore throat.  Cough drops only helped for a few minutes and never aided my throbbing head, so I always had a cup of tea nearby. 

            Despite feeling poorly, I didn’t hate getting an infection.  It meant that I stayed home from school and spent the day with my grandparents.  Grammy would fuss and make me potato soup, a favorite family recipe, and I’d nestle in beside my Pappy for a nap while he watched FoxNews.  For hours.  The reporters went through the same news stories five times before he turned to another channel, but I didn’t mind.  Snuggled up at his side, I was content to feel his arm around me, or smell the soft scent of mint surrounding me as he bit into one of his sugar free peppermint patties.  Then we’d both enjoy a cup of tea together, as we chatted about my latest read - a Dickens classic or a Sherlock Holmes adventure. 

            Now, as it snows, I’m forced to reconcile that we can no longer share in literature and tea.  The many wonderful books I read for my classes would make lovely discussion, yet I can no longer visit with him.  With the kettle warming on the stovetop, I hoped that tea and my favorite book would warm my spirit…and I was not disappointed.