High Fives and High Tea
Joy. Light-heartedness. Dancing.
I felt the Spirit nudging me with these words as I took communion this morning. After all, don’t we call it “celebrating communion?”
Have I forgotten to celebrate?
While both the highs and lows are meant to be recognized in an authentic life, sometimes I get stuck in the hard places. The low country. I forget that the high plains are life-giving, despite the rarefied air at these heights.
Celebration owned the month of April.
My friend, Laurén, walked down the aisle to meet her dear Lucas.
For over a decade I had watched Laurén celebrate the weddings and babies of her wide-circle of friends. Despite these events being an illusive desire of her heart, I never felt any envy from her. Only happiness for the other. This time, it was her turn and my daughter, Kendall, and I were ecstatic to share in her delight.
And my sister, Linda, got a “no more cancer” bill of health following unexpected surgery.
Linda routinely leads the celebration for others. Gifted in all things hospitality, when we heard her excellent prognosis, she said, “Let’s have tea!”
And to Linda, tea never means Lipton dunked in a styrofoam cup of tepid water. It means cucumber sandwiches dotted with dill and perfectly cooked egg salad with a thimbleful of sweet relish. Add the king’s coronation chicken salad and scones with strawberry jam and Devon cream.
Only then do we “put on the kettle” for loose leaf Earl Grey with a splash of milk (never cream) just like the late Queen would take hers.
It’s actually surprisingly easy to assemble a tea party worthy of celebration. A few tips we’ve discovered:
Make your sandwiches open-faced. Saves on time and carbs.
Try grating your hard-boiled eggs for a quick crumble (no one will mind if you buy the eggs already cooked, but if you do boil them yourself, always dunk them into an ice bath after the timer buzzes)
Use a cookie cutter to cut out the bread into fun shapes
Always use your best tea cups. Stop hiding the “good plates” for another time.
My recipe for Scones can be found here. If you don’t have a biscuit cutter, the flowered rim of a drinking glass works great. Get your hands into the dough…it’s therapeutic!
Toasting you this month along with a springtime bursting with celebration.
Cheers!
Carole