Sunday, November 7, 2010

Thankful Today #7

#7- I am thankful for hot tea

Okay, this may seem like kind of a lame thing to be thankful for in the grand scheme of life...and well, it is, but I am thankful for it nonetheless!

I have been drinking hot tea for as long as I can remember. I don't drink coffee (unless it is a fancy one filled with sugar and chocolate and things that make it not taste like coffee) but I do like apple cider, just not as much as hot tea. There are flavors I enjoy well enough but what I really prefer is Lipton's regular brew with sugar. That is it, nothing fancy! Other tea lovers probably are more cultured than I am, using loose leaf or finding special flavors or knowing the perfect brew time and temperature, but I am perfectly content with my microwaved cup of water with a tea bag dunked for as long as it takes for me to remember to come back to add the sugar. Usually I have to reheat it. But I know when I have a good mug of tea. My husband always gives me a strange look when I declare that out loud when I take a first sip. He so doesn't get it. He has the nerve to call it hot, brown, sugar water.

It is so much more than a warm drink that has a flavor that I like. It is a comfort. Drinking tea is full of memories. It is something I share with my mom and my sister and something that reminds me of both of my grandmothers. One of my favorite gifts I have ever recieved was Mrs. Tea (basically, like a coffee maker that brews a teapot of tea and keeps it warm). My mom, sister and I got it from my grandmother as a Christmas gift and we have used it for years. It was discontinued but one Christmas, my dad surprised me with my own Mrs. Tea that he found on Ebay. My mom, sister and I still always have mugs of tea when I spend time with my family. When one of us is making a mug for ourselves we offer to heat up a mug for the others. I still even have my favorite mug to drink from at my parents' house. It is a Suzy Zoo mug that she got for me before the first day of school when I was still in high school. At Christmastime we always drink out of the Christmas mugs, you just have to.

I almost always start my day with a mug of tea (notice I don't say cup, those teacups are just too tiny). I often have a mug when I am winding down and there are times I will have it in the middle of the day! It doesn't matter the season or temperature (though my consumption is definitely increased when it is cold or rainy). Pregnancy is throwing a kink into my hot tea enjoyment because decaf just isn't as good as the real stuff...but I still savor it. I am honestly bummed when I reach the end of the mug and would drink a lot more if the calories from the sugar didn't get me.

So you see, it is so much more than a favorite drink. It is an experience, a cup of memories and thoughts of my family and a pleasure. So I am thankful for hot tea.

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