Time for Tea, Too

TIME FOR TEA, TOO

Pete Seager wrote the legendary song, Turn, Turn, Turn.

I’m sure many people (like me) sang along whenever we heard it playing. Likewise, I’m sure there are several people who, to them, the song was only a bunch of tossed-together words. When I was younger, I know I never once bothered to look up the true meaning of what the song’s meaning was.

Being me, I’m going to relate my own experiences behind everything; some will be serious while others will be, I hope amusing, and I will end with something of my own.

A time to be born: some of us wish we were born in a different month, year, or many even another era. I believe we were born exactly at time when we were supposed to born.

A time to die: no matter how we wish to prolong the lives of ourselves or the ones we love, when our time comes, nothing will stop that final breath from happening.

A time to plant: whether it’s a seed for food, a seed to create a new life, or a seed for an idea for someone else to ponder, the seed will not take root until its time is right.

A time to reap: everything in creation has its own timing. Whether it be a life, a food source, an idea, or a first step, it will never happen until it’s ripe enough to allow it.

A time to kill: OMG!! Don’t we all get that urge now and then? I can think of many times when that urge struck my mind. Fortunately, (or perhaps at times unfortunately) logic took control. I knew spending my life in jail wasn’t worth eliminating the person who created that urge. And yet, if humanity's enemies hadn't been "eliminated", we might have been. Something to think about.

A time to heal: that’s where my logic kicked in. I sat back and allowed my emotions the necessary time to heal from the anger and hurt caused by another.

A time to laugh: once I allowed myself to heal, I realized the humor in my thoughts and laughed at my close-called actions, ever thankful that logic took over.

A time to weep: yes, like many, I have had my share of times when the need to cry was extremely strong. Happy tears were shed when my sons were born. Tears of sadness were shed when both sons were diagnosed with incurable illness. Tears of joy were shed when they showed signs of improved health. Tears of sadness were shed when I lost my dad and brother within two years of each other. Tears of joy were shed when my grandchildren were born. Tears of sadness were shed when my older son had a horrific incident that led him to be classified as an invalid. Tears of relief were shed when, while he’d never recover, he was told he’d never get worse. I still find hidden tears waiting to fall when I think of the day my mother died - which is often. There are tears of extreme joy are always shed when I think of how wonderful my daughters-in-law are. They are caring, passionate, and just plain awesome women to are devoted wives and mothers. I admire them to no end and love them to the moon and beyond. They are my rocks … NO, not my rocks, they are my boulders! There have been times I would not have known what to do and yet, their love, and compassion always pull me through.

A time to build up: many of us will think this is to mean a physical building. I think it might also mean building up one’s ego or emotional status. I’ve been in the company of family and friends when they’ve gotten “not-so-happy news” and depending on their reactions, I’ve gotten to know when to leave them alone and let them work things out for themselves or interfere on their thoughts and offer my support. They all know I’m there for them, no matter what but there are times when they just want to be left alone. Knowing the difference - letting them be or interfering can be quite tricky.

A time to break down: my mom and now my children always said I was a strong person. I keep things locked up inside not wanting to share my heart’s desires or heartaches with them, because there is nothing, they can do about either and since they have their own share of problems, I just feel there’s no point in burdening them with mine. When I feel the need to “break down”, I’ll take a long hot shower and break down where no one can see.

A time to dance: and oh, my goodness, how I love to dance and yet, there are times when I knew I must be serious and pay attention to those and their moods that surround me.

A time to mourn: when my dad passed away, mom was devastated. His cancer was completely unexpected and took him away from us with weeks. Mom begged me to be strong for her. I knew then that my mourning would have to wait – and wait it did. Two years after my dad’s funeral, we lost my brother to cancer. Again, mom asked me to be strong for her. Again, I did. Finally, one year later, I took a hot shower and allowed my broken heart and its tears flow unbridled.

A time to cast away stones: for years, I harbored hurt and resentment towards those who, through the years emotionally hurt me or my children. One day, my body, heart, and mind woke up. I knew that all those years, the only one being hurt was me because I found it hard to let go of it all. That day I did. I cast all the hurtful stones away and never looked back.

A time to gather stones together: I hold dear all those in my life who accept me for who and what I am: a fallible, sensitive, human with a weird sense of humor. Oh, and I also collect a few stones from places I’ve visited.

A time to embrace: I come from a circle of friends who are huggers. That makes me happy since I also am a hugger. It’s just a nice way to greet those close to me.

A time to refrain from embracing: to avoid giving the wrong impression to those I meet, I refrain from giving or receiving a hearty embrace until I get to know them better. There was a time when I was caught in a very awkward situation and decided then, that it would never happen again.

A time to gain: I’m always eager to accumulate knowledge whether through written words or conversations. Gaining knowledge is a favorite pastime of mine and is never a waste of time.

A time to lose: there have been times (many to be exact), when I look around my house, especially my home office and wonder where in heaven’s name did all that junk come from. Then I decide, it’s time to “lose” much of it. Not only do I lose much of the junk, but I also make a conscious effort to lose weight (which I have), and an extra subtle effort to lose people in my life that cast a negative aura in my direction.

A time to rend: as I empty drawers where I keep old (and I mean really old) documents, stories, and other personal items, I carefully peruse each one and decide then what goes into the shredder and what doesn’t. OMG! You’d be surprised how quickly I fill large garbage bags with shredded paper.

A time to sew: this time, I’m not speaking of material items. I’m talking about relationships. The better part of twenty years had been spent not speaking to a relative. The reasons aren’t any longer important. It seemed the rift would never be closed, then one day, I received an email. I wasn’t sure if I had done something wrong or had she. Her email never acknowledged guilt, and neither did she point a finger at me. The problem was never spoken about. We just decided to ignore it and start again. We did and now our friendship is strong. I have a similar situation that is on the horizon of being sewn back together.

A time to love: while many of you will say there is never a good time to not love, I must disagree. There are a few people in my life that I no longer love. While I don’t hate them, I find their actions caused me to lose whatever love I thought I had for them. My adopted feeling is that I have none for them – no emotional ties whatsoever. To me, they are like strangers I never met.

A time to hate: I once thought I had this aspect of my life nailed down. I hated those who wronged my or my family. One day changed all that negativity. Upon awakening, I realized the only one who was emotionally ill was myself. Knowing I’d be in the company of someone I had “hated”, was making me physically ill. Once I eliminated those negative feelings, I felt healthier and happier. I now have the attitude that there is no good time to hate and yet, I hate any disease that tries to eat away at a person's body and/or mind.

A time of peace: yes, there is a time for peace just as there is a time for war. There are times when others who think they are stronger than others wish to demonstrate control over those they deem to be weaker. Those who feel superior wish to oppress those who they deem inferior and push their ideas and so-called ideals into the lives on the so-called weaklings. That’s when we need to fight and hold on to our own ideals and faiths. We need to show our courage to the oppressors. Until we can do that, our time for peace will be long in coming. It’s never too late to win the war for peace.

And finally, with the time of day now reaching four o’clock, it is a time for tea. I’ll go in the kitchen and put the kettle on the burner. As the water begins to boil, I’ll butter a few saltine crackers. Once my tea is brewed, I’ll have my afternoon snack and rest while I do.