Tea...

So, healthwise, the last week has been... less than lovely. And I was planning on writing a whole blog about it, giving the horrible details of what I've been through, with a special emphasis on Friday and Saturday, throughout which I felt like there was a rabid wolverine trying to tear my lungs out through my throat.

But I'm not. I'm not going to do it. I have made a vow to be more uplifting. I'm not planning on becoming some sort of middle-aged Pollyanna or something (because, boy, is THAT not in my nature) but when something negative happens I'm trying not to spew it all over the world. And nowadays, with the internet and Facebook and this blog and Twitter, it is SOOOOOOOOO easy to spew negativity all over the place like doleful vomit.

So instead, I dedicate this blog to... tea. Yes, you read that right, tea. My love of coffee is well known and documented, I suspect. Less well known is my love of tea.

There is a... simplicity to tea that I appreciate. It has an effortlessness to it that says, "I'm delicious without a lot of effort; it's just how I am." Tea never tries too hard; it's very zen. It just is. It's like the easy embrace of an old friend, or a warm bowl of soup on a cold day, or my own bed after a long time away: comforting in a way that is almost impossible to put into words but reaches directly into my heart and mind to soothe the very thing that is eating at me. If nothing is eating at me, it is a perfect companion for a good couple of hours of sitting and reading.

I prefer the dark breakfast teas. English is good, but a little weak for me. I like a tea that holds up well to sugar or honey and some milk. I like the flavor those things give to tea, but I still want to actually taste the tea. My favorites are Irish and Scottish Breakfast, with an emphasis on the Scottish. I love that oaky, woody flavor that it has, but it's difficult to find in loose leaf.

And when I'm sick? Oh my. You can't tear me away from a cup of tea. I still get my coffee in the morning, but quickly switch to tea. Hell, I'm drinking tea right now. Finishing up a cup and have the kettle on already to brew another in its place.

So in short, while it's been a bit of rough week of coughing and cancelled plans, there is always a light in the darkness, sunlight filtered through a cup of brown joy...