Tea and Praise

Right now I'm drinking a mug of Harney & Sons Queen Catherine black tea. It's not one of my favorites, but I like it well enough. The mug I'm using has my name, Judy, and its meaning, "praise", imprinted on the outside. It is one of my favorites. Later, I'll tell you why.

I started drinking tea sometime in my twenties. At that time I wasn't too fond of coffee, and tea seemed like a good caffeine alternative. Of course, in those days my only exposure to tea was Lipton and Tetley (anyone remember those "tiny little tea leaves"?). I bought the tea in bags, which was nice and neat, no mess, easy to toss. Then one day I found Red Rose tea bags. It was bad tea, but there was a cute little ceramic animal nestled inside each box. I bought it occasionally, and choked down the tea.

Then, when I was in my thirties, I found the Jewel Tea Company. The tea was still in bags, but it was a much better quality, and they had a large variety of flavors. One of the ones I like best was black cherry. Just remembering it makes me want it.

I remember the days when I would see the Jewel Tea truck turning onto our street, and I would get excited. The driver knew me, and usually had some new flavor or "commemorative tin" to offer, and I was an easy sale.

About that time I also discovered herbal tea and loose tea. The herbal tea was mostly from Celestial Seasonings (have you tried "Sleepy Time"?—when I'm feeling poorly, it perks me up just smelling it). The loose tea was more adventurous. And of course I had to buy tea balls to accommodate the loose leaves. Using a tea ball is more "green", but messier. If I'm not careful, I can sling the tea leaves beyond the compost container, as they often tend to cling to the ball. Letting the leaves dry out in the ball makes disposal neater, but to accomplish this I had to buy multiple tea balls, as I often drink several cups daily.

Of course there are many types of tea: black, green, white, red (rooibos, pronounced "roy-boss", actually an herb). And there are categories of tea within the types: Darjeeling, oolong, pekoe, Lapsang Souchong, etc. I love (almost) all of them.

Now, about the mug. When I was growing up, there were very few girls name Judy. It seemed such an old-fashioned name. And I didn't know anyone who named their baby Judy. It seemed the name was doomed to pass into obscurity. Then a friend who knew I collected mugs gave me this one. Judy means "praise". Suddenly I felt as though my name wasn't so mundane, so old-fashioned. I remembered the hymn, "Praise the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me. Praise His holy name." Yeah… I praise Him.

A couple of years ago I was in a store and I heard someone say, "Judy!" I turned around, because I am always the only Judy. I started to say, "What?", but I saw a woman running after a little girl who looked to be about eighteen months old.

"Judy come back here!" she called. The woman finally caught up the little girl, scooped her up in her arms, and kissed her.

I wanted to go over and hug and kiss them both, but the world being what it is, I refrained. But I did say a little prayer of praise for them both.

Well, my tea is gone, so I need to finish today's blog. Have a great day, however much is left of it. And may God bless you.