Morning Tea with Feijoas Please
Stop. Right now, whatever you are doing. Take a breath. Most likely, if it is about 10:30am wherever you are, the day has started and may even be getting away from you. There is much to be done! Yes. That pace, as tiring as it can be, is a fun one. A productive life with purpose and a busy calendar. Ideas are created and produced. Projects are completed and emails are immediately returned. And if I was to inquire about your morning tea, you may laugh and think of the leftover packet of Earl Grey in the cupboard as you sip on an extra hot tall Americano. Perhaps gulped down as you rushed out the door this morning with a piece of toast in hand. For shame! Americans may never know that morning tea is not breakfast. It is not lunch. It is not even a snack. It is, in fact, a lovely pause from the morning's tasks (that begin at 8:30am) for tea and a biscuit, a nibble of carrots and peanut butter, or a tasty spoonful of feijoa (fruit that tastes somewhat like a kiwi -- ish). And it is served every day, at 10:30am, on the dot. Do not be late. It is an important moment to discuss how the day's work is going, share a story or, at this particular farm, learn a new language greeting and a daily joke. Mostly, an enjoyable opportunity to reconvene over a steaming cup of herbal lemon verbena tea (picked fresh from the garden, of course). I suppose a cliché reference to The Lord of the Rings is appropriate here, if you need a visual of the concern I feel for the American eradication of morning tea from the schedule. We must reconsider. It is a social delight worth implementing for the common good of mankind, and I, for one, am a fan. Pass me another feijoa, please, it is 10:30am and morning tea cannot be missed. Perhaps you will take a moment to join me? I do hope so. Cheers.
