The Healing Properties of a Tea Party

The NATUI household has been struck by the dreaded summer cold this week. The kids had it for a day each. Me? Three full days. I have been curled up in the fetal position on my couch or my bed with an aching head and stuffy nose. I am usually the unaffected one in the household. Apparently, my immune system was too cocky for its own good.

Yesterday afternoon, my daughter wanted me to have a tea party and could not wrap her head around the concept that I needed to be prone. Laid out. Head and feet at the same elevation. From the couch I told her she could set her tea set on the coffee table so that I could watch her from my nest of blankets and wadded up tissues. She grumped around for a while, until she decided she would make me a bed. On the floor. Why that was somehow better than the couch I will never understand, but her eyes lit up as she dragged pillows and duvets out of the bedrooms and created a giant queen-sized pallet in the middle of our living room. She tucked me into it with toys and teddy bears, patted my head so I would feel better and then served tea.

It was totally awesome.

I have been having little niggling doubts lately if being home with my kids has been a good thing. It has been an exhausting summer with very few breaks. Hubbie's job is keeping me in nearly single parent status, and I've not had any personal outlets to recharge my energy. My tea party yesterday went a long way in making me feel better. Emotionally and physically. My daughter and I were able to to find a solution to a mismatch of expectations, and it turned out brilliantly.

Now, she's setting up another tea party and has been patiently waiting for me to finish this post. I wonder what she is serving?