Since becoming infatuated with British and Canadian
television shows lately, it is only fitting that I should also indulge in a cup
of afternoon tea using my finest china cups and saucers. Actually, my nice china
is the only set of dishes I own with cups and
saucers. Sipping a cup of tea from a nice cup creates the illusion of a calmer,
slower day than that of thoughtless mug-sized gulps of coffee in the car on the
way to work. The enjoyment of tea is also accompanied by the delicate tinkling
sound as the cup lightly touches back on the saucer, the poised feel of the
slender cup handle between my fingers and thumb, and the delicate taste of the fragrant
tea.
The television shows I have watched in which the lead
characters prefer a steamy cup of tea to the more common cup of Joe, has been
on shows such as Downton Abbey, Murdoch
Mysteries, Foyle’s War, Doc Martin and even an American show, The Mentalist, where Patrick Jane often
requests a cup tea complete with saucer.
When watching these TV shows and the tea being consumed, I
must enjoy a little “low tea” of my own in the afternoon. Low tea, I learned, simply
refers to the height of table used from which to serve the tea. Low tea would
be served on the lower more common coffee table in mid
afternoon. Then, “high tea”, contrary to popular American belief, is actually
tea served at the evening meal on the higher dinner table, which, of course, is higher in
height. Therefore, since I’m not
sipping tea at my dinner table, I have low tea from my coffee table. Ironic, that it is referred to
as a “coffee” table when drinking tea. Perhaps I should refer to my sofa table as a “tea” table.
Seeing England, the land of our Forefathers, in these shows
is very intriguing to me. Having grown up and live in Southeast Texas, I rarely get even a glimpse of the old colonies or
settlements the English established in America, much less England or Canada. All of the landscapes are
beautiful in these shows; the old buildings where the scenes are shot as well
as the characters’ costumes are such fun to watch. Even if I were to visit
England or Canada, I believe I’d be disappointed to find that it would look
very much like America. Although,
I also suggest that some of the reasons I enjoy these TV shows so much is
because of the slow pace of life in the stories.
The days I do not substitute teach I’m left home to be as
slow as I’d like. Although, I should enjoy these days, I don’t really. Instead,
I feel sad, a little guilty, that I’m not adding to our income instead of staying home. I wish I could enjoy my retirement, but some days it simply depresses
me not to be out working. However, it is not the love of working I desire, it is the freedom to enjoy my days at home. On those
days, I have to talk to myself saying it is all right and I have plenty to do
around the house.
Finding something to occupy my time is an easy task. For the 30 years I taught school, I
longed to be left at home alone without kids or anyone to interrupt, to be able
to clean out closets, do a thorough job of cleaning blinds, curtains and
kitchen cupboards. What was I
thinking? Ha! Likely I will not be content until I die. I realize it's not a very Christian
sentiment, but I'm praying and working on that with God.
Now to continue my day at home. I believe I’ll have a second
cup of coffee or perhaps an English tea while I watch TV or perhaps work on one of the hundreds of tasks on my to-do list.
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