A Tea Cup of Friends

tea party in the making

I mentioned Katrina Ávila Munichiello's new book last week when I wrote the first steeping of the Tea Reader.  I'm still excited about digging deeper into this book.  Rather than read it straight through cover to cover, I've resolved to pick and choose the essays that jump out at me.  But where to start?

Well, I saw Stephanie Lemmons Wilson's blog announcing the same book.  You can read it here:

Exciting News: Tea Reader

Even more interesting? Stephanie's written one of the pieces (A Tea Cup of Friends).  What better place to start reading this book might there be?  Yeah, I thought so too.

It's a sentimental, in the best sense of the word, look at saying goodbye to tea friends in one place and moving across the country.  Not knowing new people to share her passion for tea with, she initially feels lonely...even more distant from her friends back 'home'.

These aren't Stephanie's words, but she makes it clear that her text/words shouldn't be used without her permission.  You'll have to rely on my retelling/paraphrasing. Eventually, she meets another tea lover.  She's invited to speak at the next planned tea party, and she begins to feel much more a part of the community thanks to the tea friends in the new city.

The piece ends with a poem that tells the same story in verse.  It's quite nice, and I can definitely see why Katrina chose to include it.