Tea

Winter (3)

Remember that old song? Tea for two and two for tea? Or maybe I’m dating myself … That song was my introduction to tea when I was a little girl. My cousin bought me my first tea set when I was five or six.  Thrilled, I thought it was the finest bone china. The tiny cups and saucers are just a distant memory now.

I don’t remember when I started drinking tea, but I can recall the day I wanted to collect teapots. My mom had a teacup collection as a young girl and gave it to me. I displayed them in a case and thought a dainty floral teapot in the center would look good.

I scoured antique stores and fine china departments looking for the right one. I found a beautiful white pot covered in tiny pink flowers. The lid had a rose bud for a handle. I was hooked. I needed more. Collections were very popular back then. Kids had their Beanie Babies, and I had my teapots.

At first teapots were hard to find. Most of my early ones came from antique stores. Then suddenly they were everywhere. I had my pick of themes and colors. Finally I ran out of spots to put them. I knew I needed to stop.

As we all do from time to time, we change the décor in our home. Colors we loved were now out dated. Wallpaper became a no-no. A major overhaul took place, and suddenly, my teapots didn’t fit in with the new look. Some were tucked away, others sold. I swore off collecting, so no new ones were bought.

Guess what I did today? I scoured the web for a teapot. It has to be a certain color and design. To my surprise, teapots have jumped the shark. I shook my head at all the cat, owl and frog designs. A spaceship? Oh. No.

There are whimsical, funky, and creative teapots. The world is saturated with ceramic, bone china, cast iron and glass ones. My search finally stopped when I came to Tea Rex.

I won’t give up the search, but don’t plan to collect again. I need just one teapot, and when I find it, I’ll know it. The place of honor sits empty, waiting for the elusive pot.

Does it have to be a teapot, I was asked?

Yes, it does, for lots of reasons. To bring back memories. To remember my collection. And because I like tea.

 

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I admit I’m sensitive. I get my feelings hurt very easily. So why put myself through the torture of rejection?

The fear of rejection was the hardest thing to overcome after I wrote my first book. When you write, you’re alone in your own little world, happily writing your story. The next step was the scary part—getting it out there. From what I read, you needed an agent to get published and be successful.

Agents are very good at rejection. They have all different ways of saying your book is not for them. They also suggest that someone else may like it even if it’s not right for them. My first rejection letter came in the mail. I read it over and over, letting it sink in. It took a few days to get over but I realized if I was going to get published, I had to take the rejection.

I needed to develop my own personal plan to get over this fear. I had to become my own life coach. I knew I needed pep talks and I was the only one who could do it. I began a list in my head of what had to be done.

The first thing I had to do was not care so much. This wasn’t personal. It’s a business. Don’t take it to heart.

I became my own cheerleader. I assured myself it was okay and I’d live to see another day.

I had to accept the rejection. Most came by e-mail and I saved them all. When one came along, I added it to a folder marked “Queries”.  Read them and move on.

There’s a great song out now from the Disney movie, Frozen. Its title, Let it Go, says it all. Don’t dwell on the rejection.

Imagine my surprise when I finally got an offer to publish my book! I had to read it over carefully because I was so used to skimming the contents for the rejection. If I had given into my fear, I wouldn’t be here now, telling you about my third book in my series, Stealing Time.

I recently read a story about a young girl who went to her mother and asked, “Why bother trying anymore?” The mother went to the kitchen and filled three pots with water. She placed an apple in one, an egg in another and finally tea into the last, bringing them to a boil. The girl didn’t understand why her mom did that. Her mother said it taught something about facing challenging times. The daughter shook her head, confused. The mother explained. The apple went into the water hard and came out soft and spongy. The egg was hard and firm. However, the tea transformed the water into something good, healing and beneficial.

The mother then asked the daughter what she would do when she was faced with the trials of life. Would she be similar to the apple and fall apart? Or grow hard like the egg? Or perhaps, like the tea, turn your trials into triumph, something of value.

The story can be applied to all our obstacles in life. Which would you choose? I’ve always been a tea lover myself.

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FE06OWTEAWhenever you go out for breakfast at a restaurant, the first thing they ask is if you want coffee. No one ever asks, “Tea?” Nope, it’s always coffee. What about us tea drinkers? We always have to say, “I’ll have tea, please.” Then you have to specify hot or cold, sweet or unsweetened because it’s served so many ways.

coffee

Funny, I should be a coffee drinker because I grew up surrounded by it. My mother always started up the coffee pot after family dinners so everyone could have coffee with their dessert. It was considered a sin if there wasn’t any to go along with the cake or pie that was served.

I love the smell of coffee. It’s a welcoming smell as if it’s saying come in and stay awhile. I’ll admit to drinking a caramel or mocha latte but true coffee drinkers would say that’s not the real thing. My son likes dark roasted coffees, the stronger and darker the better.

I can’t remember how or when I was introduced to tea. Maybe I had iced tea when I was younger but all I know is I prefer it over coffee. There’s nothing like a hot cup of tea on a cold morning. One of my favorites is English Breakfast and as a flavored tea, nothing can beat Peach Apricot.

My favorite tearoom closed recently and it left a large gap in my life. My sister and I had a standing reservation there. Every Friday we’d head to our cozy table to eat lunch, drink tea and solve world problems. Well, not really solve those problems but in a tearoom anything is possible!

tea cups

 

Trying to find a replacement tearoom has been difficult. There are a few but none like that one. I still go to other tearooms because I’d miss the mismatched tea cups on each table and pouring the steaming tea into one of them. A tearoom takes you away from the real world for awhile and I can’t give that up.

When I write, I like to have a cup of tea nearby. It helps the thought process. I can lean back, take my cup in hand and think.

So given my choice in the great debate of coffee or tea, I’ll always have my answer ready. I’ll have tea, please.

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