This year I find myself turning to herbal tea with great enthusiasm. They have become integral to my evening winding down ritual before bed. For most of my life I have been a drinker of tea. Only in high school did I occasionally incorporate coffee, and it was mostly on special occasions, where I felt oh so Seattle and oh so Grunge by heading to Starbucks (yes, I realize how clueless that sounds, but I was 16 and therefore clueless).
Both of my parents worked my entire life. When my grandmother was still living she would watch me during the period of time between school and my mom's return home. Each day after first grade she would have a cup of hot tea and a plate of toast waiting for me. We'd listen to Patsy Cline records and I'd change into my outfit for dance classes. Since then tea has had a special place in my heart. It's funny how repetition can both bring comfort and solidify the status of a memory. My mom has never been a home coffee drinker. She likes coffee but every morning for as long as I can remember, she has had a cup of hot tea with milk and sugar. My own tea ritual is one I tend to practice in the evenings with decaffeinated versions of my favorites: peppermint, chamomile, cinnamon spice. My love for tea and the knowledge of its role in the history of my family made it difficult to pass up this teacup print Sugar and Cream dress once it hit the sale. I realize material objects are just things. We are not a sum total of stuff. But in grief and nostalgic longing, things can become more substantive when they trigger beloved memories.
9 comments:
What a sweet prose Jess, I enjoyed learning a bit more about you and your childhood memories. I really like how you layered your dress today, I should try to do the same since I haven't worn it in a while.
So true. I am also a tea drinker. Right now, I love chai in the mornings and some kind of herbal tea at night. The Aveda comforting tea is my favorite (it is pricey, but oh so good). This is a lovely dress, made even more special by your sweet memories.
This is just a really sweet post.
This is such a sweet and lovely post. I love both tea and coffee. They are almost interchangeable except I rarely drink coffee in the evening. i love the top over the dress! I love making dresses into skirts!
what a fun skirt! and love the ruffles.
Wow, what a lovely post. Isn't it interesting how something as simple and ordinary as having a cup of tea has so many memories associated with it?
Yes, I know what you mean. I'm a tea- drinker too, and peppermint is my favorite.
This dress is so fun- I love how you "skirted" it.
Um, how did I miss this? Your outfit is amazing - I have the dress but never thought to layer over it! It really brings out the print on the bottom half of the dress. I am totally going to shamelessly copy you with this look. I also adore your story. It reminds me of getting ready for my own dance classes at my grandma's store. She'd be helping customers and I'd be changing in the fitting rooms... then I'd help her ring in the purchases with those old school credit card thingies. Anyway thank you for such a beautiful post, it was so lovely to read.
What a wonderful post! All of my family are big coffee drinkers, so tea drinking was a ritual that I really didn't pick up until graduate school when I was trying to limit my caffeine intake in the afternoon and evenings.
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