Web HSC

Helpful Links: Home & Hearth

Return to Home & Hearth Info Page

Home & Hearth: Special Family Times

Tea Time, by Mary Leggewie

My former neighbor is an Indian lady, and our kids are about the same age. The kids always want to play out front (what's wrong with the BACK yard?) and she loved her Indian Masala (spice) tea, so we started having tea time regularly on my front porch or hers. We'd add an extra neighbor once in a while, and we made it a pretty regular ritual to get together at about 4 p.m. for about 1/2 to 1 hour while the kids rode their bikes or skated. My dear Sadhana has moved, but we still get together for tea time a few times a month. But I've continued the tradition with just our family and occasional neighbors.

I try to bake something (I love to bake) or do something a little extra special, and when we serve up "tea time" (which is usually juice for the kids, or occasionally the sweet masala tea watered down with extra milk), and I always make the kids gather around and tell me why they are having a special day (aren't they ALL special?). The most important thing is that I LISTEN.

Even if you've only got 15 minutes to sit down, this ritual is well worth the time! Plus, a side benefit is that when they nag me immediately after lunch for a snack, I can tell them, "not till tea time!"

Occasionally, I use the silver tea service my mother-in-law passed down and porcelain cups (get them at garage sales) and the kids feel so special! Sometimes I'll even make a BIG deal out of it and pretend to be a maid with an accent and wait on them in an apron. This is a great humorous way to teach manners: "Why Mr. Leggewie, you didn't wipe your mouth on your sleeve, now did you???no sireee...You wouldn't do THAT!" My kids beg for this tea part when they have company over.

Sadhana and I agreed that our tea time was much cheaper than group therapy! I hope you have rituals like this in your family! Please share them here!

P.S. Here's a funny one about tea time. My mother-in-law lives in a retirement community where "cocktail time" is a big deal. I must admit that my kids have raised some eyebrows when we visit up there and the kids ask if it's "cocktail time" yet! They call it tea time at home, but somehow they change over when we're at grandma's!