The thing about time…
When we are young, we are so very busy. Busy getting an education, busy building a career, busy having and caring for children and their many needs and later activities, busy shopping for groceries, new shoes for the kids, hair appointments, doctor appointments, yard work, laundry, cooking, cleaning ….. and at the end of each week, there is still a list of things we still didn’t get done. It’s ok, we still have time, until we don’t.
When we are young we think we have an abundance of time just waiting for us to spend later. As a grandmother who has not yet retired (a couple of years away), time becomes more and more precious. My daughter, her husband and my three grandchildren live five and half hours away and between my work schedule, their work schedules and the ever growing busy activities of each grandchild as they grow into lives of their own, attempting to coordinate uninterrupted time together has become an impossible challenge.
I remember when my mother retired, she suddenly had time to spare and fantasized about her family all getting together to take a cruise or some kind of trip together. While she and my dad now had the benefit of time, my brother and I, and our children struggled to clear our schedules all at the same time to make this wish of her’s materialise. We all thought we still had time, until we didn’t.
My mom passed away at the age of 75 with pancreatic cancer. The biggest shock to all of us including her. She was certain she had so much more time, but time for her, had ended.
Mother’s Day is a day to celebrate our Moms, but when Mom has gone to live with the Lord everything changes. Those who have their adult children and grandchildren living near, may be blessed with an afternoon brunch, lunch or even barbecue to spend time with those you hold so dear to your heart for at least a day. For those like myself that live at a distance, the day is less about me and more about my memories of my Mom and the pride I feel for my lovely daughter who is a wonderful Mom trying to find time for forming my grandchildren into beautiful little people.
My Annual Mother’s Tea was formed to gather with friends whose Moms have also gone to be with the Lord, and offers us each a place to share memories and celebrate our mothers.
Held on the first Sunday in May (so as not to conflict with the actual Mother’s Day holiday), we all have a rhinestone framed photo of our mothers that I like to think of as their crowns; that are placed before us at each place setting.
Each year we select a name from a teapot and the following year I create a tea theme that celebrates and honors that mother. Over the years we have found common ground between our mothers from different generations and drawn memories from just taking the time to sit and listen to each others stories.
This year, for our 4th Annual Mother’s Tea, we honored Kelly’s Mom, Jane Peacock. At our very first tea, Kelly recalled a memory of collecting the dried seeds of marigolds so her Mom could replant them in her garden the following year. These seed packets were created from my garden at the end of last year’s season, to use as favors for this year’s tea.
Kelly’s Mom was an eclectic lady, with passions and interests that challenged me in my effort to capture her spirit on this special day. In my previous post https://socialinteractionsandparties.wordpress.com/2022/04/21/a-little-racey-beachy-peacock-mothers-tea/ , I explain the table decor which includes themes of peacock, beach and NASCAR.
I of course had to include some fresh marigolds, and the flowers that Kelly most associated with her Mom which were yellow roses and daisies. Daisies are not readily available in my area, so I used chamomile that resembles a floppy delicate miniature daisy in the floral arrangements. I used purple irises in memory of Lydia’s mother that we honored last year and some lavender from my garden.
The tea I chose met with the beachy theme that was carried throughout the table setting and some of the menu. This tea by Teavana, Beach Bellini was delicious. A couple of the ladies don’t like tea, and this was a perfect choice. I sweetened the pot with honey and the pineapple mango flavor was light and very refreshing. It is a perfect Spring or Summer time tea hot or cold.
While I’m honoring a specific mother, I do try to inject a little piece of each mother somewhere in the day. One friend said her mother loved pineapple sorbet that I put a small scoop of in a fluted glass and topped with champagne for a pineapple bellini cocktail.
THE MENU:
Strawberry Citrus Salad
This strawberry citrus salad with honey balsamic dressing was served in memory of Jane, who added strawberries to various salads and was what Kelly described as the first time she can remember having fruit in salad that she learned to love. A fresh nasturtium flower dressed up the colorful bowl.
Mixed spring greens and wild arugula, sliced ripe strawberries, naval orange segments, marigold petals, feta, toasted slivered almonds (chopped) and honey balsamic vinaigrette.
Finger Sandwiches:
Grilled Ham and Gruyere Cheese Sandwiches (Kelly’s memory of a lunch date with her Mom) at a diner called Mayberry’s in North Carolina.
Pineapple chicken salad wrapped in sweet brown bread tied with chives and chamomile flowers.
Cucumber Radish with herby creme fraiche on white bread when fennel fronds.
Pink peppercorn egg salad in crispy pastry cups with violas.
At the top: Jane’s favorite sandwich, roast beef on toasted rye (topped with onion chutney and tarragon blossoms.)
A Palate Cleanser…
A splash of Spring celebrated with fresh floral ice bowls created to serve a mango sorbet palate cleanser between the tea sandwich and scone courses.
The inside of one of the ice bowls. Each bowl is unique and different.
These coconut macadamia scones were served with the mango sorbet and a side of pineapple preserves. https://www.teatimemagazine.com/macadamia-coconut-scones/
The Pastry Course
Fig, date and citrus filled pastry envelopes with edible one hundred dollar bills to capture a memory of letters from Mom filled with coupons $$$. The full story and instructions for how to make these can be found in my previous post. https://socialinteractionsandparties.wordpress.com/2022/04/26/pastry-letters-from-mom/
I also served small eclairs and small slices of gentilly cake (a white cake with whipped cream and berry filling) that I did not get a picture of. Kelly said her Mom loved eclairs, and another of our friends said her mother loved berries (so that cake was for her Mom.)
Little winks from Mom…. Kelly told us about a hidden tattoo her Mom sported of a happy face that I put on the place cards. Her daughter told me that the family always laughed about how her grand-mommy loved boiled peanuts. So I presented a serving in a little covered cup just to Kelly in elegant tea fashion that gave her a smile.
As a wink to me and my planning this tea, I was in a bakery where I purchased the pastry shells for the egg salad and on the counter was a basket of happy face cookies. This one with the wink felt like a sign from Jane in her fun and playful way of letting me know I had captured her spirit and that she would be near on this special day.
As Mother’s Day approaches and we are all grasping for time, make sure to clear your schedule now and then. Saying no to something just for one day can make all of the difference in the world for your memories in the future. Once time is up, you can never get it back. In loving memory of Barbara, Edwina, Helen, Jane, Kathleen, and Mary.
S I P [Social Interactions and Parties] 