Tea Party

Do you ever have one of those simple, sweet, wonderful days? This post is about one of those days, which happened about two months ago, that I hope will stay in my mind for a long time.

It all started as a visit to a thrift store. We dropped some donations, and poked into the store to have a look around. Almost immediately, Lily came across this little tea pot. "Please Mom, can't we get it?" Lily asks me in her sweetest little girl voice. "It is so pretty, and you and I could go home and have a real tea party," she says in a quite but excited voice. My initial thought is that a glass tea pot is bound to be broken into a million pieces by one of the little hands in this house. But, this little girl is allllmost fiiiiive, as she likes to remind us. So a little responsibility was in order.

So, home we went with the little flowered teapot, and a few tea cups, too. Lily knew that Charlotte would like to have a cup, so she picked a few from the store to go along with the pot. The thrift store was the perfect place to pick this stuff up. It was so much fun for her to browse through all of the delicate china~ gold and silver rims, painted flowers, little animals. So much to choose from.

Once home, and Sammy safely down for a nap, Lily and I unwrapped the set and got to work washing up. I gave her a bin of soapy water and a wash cloth, and she scrubbed that set until it was squeaky clean.

Then a rinse with clean water. She loved scooping and pouring the water over her fingers.

Next she used a cloth to dry them off.

And finally... The tea party begins.

We started with water, and had a few cups of that.

Then Lily thought that it might be good to have some actual tea for our party. She wasn't thrilled with the tea, so we moved onto juice.

Lily was an exceptional tea party hostess. "Would you like more?" she asked over and over, in order to pour that little tea pot again. I am not sure that I have ever drank more liquids in a two hour span before. We were super hydrated for the rest of the day!

Of course, a few cookies were in order for such a special tea party. "How about the fancy plates?" I suggest, and immediately feel insane for suggesting that my four year old use our china plates. But, "OOOH," she jumps in little hops and claps her hands, so it clear that it is too late to change my mind. But, this was special, and she knew it, and cared for all of it perfectly.

A lovely little moment in that I must record, because in the busyness of life, these days can be so easily forgotten.