Time For Tea

Teatime.

So There Can Be Some Me Time. Mom time.

Teatime, and a plan for me time: There are four children at home yet. And four children that are grown and gone. What are we doing with a seven- and eight-year-old I ask myself? It is seven thirty in the evening, and it is time to make tea, serve tea and get to bed by eight thirty on school nights. Chamomile and lavender tea. Otherwise known as sleepy time you see. Dream time tea.

Does it work or not some will ask? One still takes melatonin nightly. If not, she will toss and turn for two hours straight. Walls get kicked, blankets fly, noise gets made and it is late. She is very tired the next day and doesn’t want to get up and play. Thankful she still only requires melatonin at this point. Maybe it helps ever so slightly. Maybe it does nothing. They sure enjoy their tea with honey though. Honey from our Alaska relatives with bees. Some will say, “Alaska Honey is the bees’ knees.”

Then there are books. Lots and lots of books. We are reading for fifteen minutes each night, while we are sipping on our teas. Sounds like they are eighty, retired and hippies. No? Check out the wild hair, colorful pajamas, fluffy pillows, and blankets. They are in the same grade and one can read better than the other. She is reading books higher than grade level. The other is still learning his sight words. She does most of the reading and he doesn’t care, just as long as someone is reading as he will read his share at some point down the road.

When it is time for bed, they both protest. "I don't want to go to bed!" "I'm hungry. Can I have a snack?" "I am thirsty, can I have more tea?" "I'm not tired yet." "Can I read one more book?" They never win. They might get 10 minutes. Or 15 minutes extra, but they don't win. I win, they go to bed. It really does not feel like a win most of the time. Remember, they are numbers seven (7) and eight (8). I am feeling old at forty-six (46). I am tired too, as I have had a long hard day at work. That means they are headed to bed so that I might have thirty seconds of peace before I pass out. The plan really was to have an hour or two. It does not ever happen, but I can dream, can I not? It may be that the reading and teatime is more helpful to me than them I thought.

The kids are in bed. The kids are out of bed. The kids are back in bed. The kids better not get back out of bed! "Mom, I have to go to the bathroom!!" “Mom, why do the boys get to stay up so late?” No fair is flying everywhere! Never mind, no go to sleep! They can tell when I have had enough. I’m not sure why it takes me as long to figure it out?

Teatime. Eight-thirty in the evening. There is enough time to switch the laundry out, hang and fold and put away the laundry, finish up a few dishes, eat a snack and switch into my boring, dull pajamas. A little later teatime as there is no school tomorrow. Chamomile lavender and add valerian root tea for me. Nighty night tea for me.

What do you think? I think we need a stronger tea, at least for me. Stronger tea, indeed.