a cup of tea.

Amazingly this morning, I was ready way before I had to wake up my children up to dress them for Church. I actually had time to sit down and have a cup of tea... that never happens to me. Usually we are rushing out of the house at 7:15 am, and why a cup of tea? Anyone who really knows me, knows how much I love coffee in the morning. But, for whatever reason, I opened the cabinet for a teacup and I was overwhelmed by sweet, joyful memories of my grandmother.

Every morning was the same whenever I visited Grandma P. I would wake up each morning hearing the tea kettle whistling. And my grandmother would sit at her kitchen table, adorned with beautiful place mats and cloth napkins (usually pink) with a proper cup of tea, not a mug, but in a china cup on a saucer with a dallop of milk or cream. Usually, by this time in the morning, her lips were already coated with pink lipstick which would leave its mark on the cup. She would read the newspaper and look out of the window from her 9th floor apartment. I would join her with my own cup of tea and we'd sit and talk, just about everything.

I loved her apartment on the 9th floor. It seemed like everything was pink and white and floral and always in its place. I loved how she called the living room couch a davenport. I loved her sense of fashion, it seemed like her drawers and closets were overflowing with jewelry and scarves and handbags and shoes. Her nails were always painted pink and her hair was always done.

My grandmother will always be special to me for so many reasons.

I vividly pictured her this morning as I reached for that teacup. I sat down and quietly enjoyed my cup of tea with cream, not alone, but with memories. It made me truly smile. I still miss my grandmother tremendously, yet memories such as these will always be a part of my heart as I know I am such a part of her.


Has that every happened to you? In an instant, you are overwhelmed by memories of a person or even a place?