"Taking time for tea", I sat one night and thought about this little phrase I've read and heard so many times. It seems simple enough, but what does it really mean? To me it means making time for comfort and relaxation, taking time to listen and share with my children, stopping long enough to truly live in the moment. Again, it seems simple enough but for some reason it's not. It "seems" that we schedule our lives so full that taking time somehow gets confused with wasting time. Making time for things that are important to us is never a waste of time. Relaxing is important, comfort is important, our family and friends are important.

So with this said stop what you are doing right now ~unless you happen to be having a cup of tea ~ and take time to have one now. Start a tradition of making time for you, a friend, a family member or members. Make this time last long enough to stop thinking about what you need to do next. It will get easier if you make it a tradition and soon it will be more important than the next thing you need to do. I speak from experience. It wasn't easy to start a teatime tradition with my children ages two and four but now it's something we look forward to everyday. It's not always pretty but it's always fun.

Our ritual is simple enough I say "it's time for tea" and my children go running to the china cabinet for their special cups. My daughter uses her own bone china demitasse cup and my son has his special Clifford mug. We use sugar cubes because we love them. We have scones or cookies in the afternoon or toast and jam in the morning. We sing silly songs, my son tells jokes and my daughter and I pretend they're funny. We talk about life, the seasons, holidays, family, and friends.

For me it's a time for living life through their eyes. They are so beautiful and life is so beautiful when seen through their eyes. I know that these days will be cherished memories, and they will go by too quickly. I know that we are truly blessed. And I'm so happy that we are "taking time for tea."

Charlene