tea time

i went to tea with my sister-in-law, her mother, sister and niece yesterday. didn't want to, but felt obligated. our other sister-in-law stacy and my mom were supposed to go as well. however, mom stepped on a nail that pierced her shoe and foot and was excused due to surgery recovery rules. stacy could not make it either. so.

tea houses are not my thing. i am ashamed to admit i attended far too few tea parties with tori when she was a little girl. some, but not enough, in retrospect. and i'd never gone to a tea house as an adult. coffee shops? oh, i'm there. (or i would be, if my town had one. darn you, starbucks! oh, who am i kidding - mcdonald's playplace is as close to a coffee shop experience as i'll have for the next ten years. and they do sell lattes now...)

but i digress, as usual. back to my intended lamentations.

taryn's family is . . . spirited. they bicker. (a family of four daughters may be the cause? food for thought.) i'm not judging; i'm just not accustomed to it. my original nuclear family didn't bicker. my own family doesn't bicker. (although during andrew's and tori's teenage years? "could you find anything more stupid to argue about?" was oft-uttered by me.) my friends' families do not bicker when i am present. who knows what goes on in private, which is kind of my point - taryn's family does not always constrain their bickering to private times and places. again, i'm not judging; just uncomfortable.

but! yesterday? no arguing. none! lively debate, but respectful. the food? meh. everyone ate faster than i, but this is normal. the price? ugh. but worth it because taryn wanted it. i like to make my family happy, see.

and it gave me a good idea (maybe. i think. maybe.) for mother's day: my sisters-in-law and i will serve a tea to grammy, timmy, ethan and catie. grammy does love her some playtime with the grandbabies, and with this plan, we can avoid her doing any work without her even realizing it. score!

stay tuned, my faithful reader (that would be me) to be regaled with tales of mother's day glory.

oh! almost forgot! this is how we will serve our chai lattes at grammy's mother's day tea party. yes we will. oh, stop with the negativity - it'll be easy!