My mom is one of the loveliest people I've ever met. Also one of the kindest. And also one of those people who believe that a cup of tea will make every situation better. I don't remember a time when my mom didn't drink at least three cups of tea a day.

Just like every other little girl, I wanted to be like my mom when I was three years old. I'd already found out that baby dolls should be glad they weren't real babies with me around, and my tiny plastic kitchen was the biggest mess a three-year-old could make without putting effort into it. Playing house wasn't my thing either, so I was set on doing that one grown-up thing that seemed simple: drinking tea. My mom bought me special children's tea. It scared me to drink  something hot, because I'd never done that before. But I did it, because I wanted to be as cool as my mom. Besides, the package it came in was pretty bad-ass: it had a princess on it who was doing magic with her sidekick: a dragon. Now let's be honest, who wouldn't want tea if it looks that awesome?
My first sip was a deception though. My mom was the most awesome person I knew, and if I wanted to be awesome like her, I'd have to drink tea. Slowly, drinking tea together became a real mother-daughter thing.

When I started kindergarten, my mom would always have a cup of tea ready for me when I came home. We'd sit down at the kitchen table and talk about my day. My mom would ask me what I'd learnt ("Nothing, I've already finished this week's book"), how my teachers were ("They won't let me start a new book") and with whom I'd played during recess ("Me and Carlo tried to fly today!"). Then she'd give me cookie and the world was great again.
Nearing the end of my elementary school, when I was bullied by pretty much everything that breathed, tea time turned grim. I'd usually come home crying, but my mom was always there, ready to comfort me with tea and cookies. Sometimes I wanted to throw my cup of tea against the wall, or burn myself with it. It were dark days, but my mom and her tea got me through it all. Tea time was often the highlight of my day.
High school came and went, tea time stayed. My mom would still ask me the same questions: did you learn something new today ("Cucurbitam describe is Latin for Draw a pumpkin"), how are your teachers ("My Ancient Greek teacher said that if I keep talking at this rate, I'll soon run out of words to say") and what did you and your friends do during lunch break ("Lars pulled a prank on Geoffrey while I was drinking and then I laughed while drinking and water came through my nose...")?  I don't know what made tea time so great: sharing stories with my mom, eating cookies or drinking cinnamon flavoured tea. I guess it's the combination of the three that made it so great.


Now I'm in college, sophomore year is already coming to an end.. After all these years, my mom and I still drink tea together every time. There have been some moments when we deeply regretted drinking tea together, especially after the Gingerbread Tea Disaster of 2013 or the "Spring Breeze Flavour" Failure of 2010. There have been days when we drank half our tea, then decided that it was way too hot to be drinking tea, or days when we looked at each other and said: 'We should've made ourselves hot chocolate." But on average, tea time with my mom is among the best things in life and I'm so grateful to have my mom and her tea in my life.

It scares me to think that one day I won't be able to have these moments with her. One day she won't be here anymore with her cup of tea and a shoulder to cry on or a smile on her face when I tell my stories. It's a fact that makes me very sad, but it also makes me appreciates drinking tea with my mom much more. If there's one thing my mom taught me over the years, it's this: tea isn't the solution to everything, but it's certainly a good start.

Stay Awesome!