Princess Tea

 

Before we went to London, I promised my best friend, Kathleen’s, granddaughter, Maxine, we would have her and her parents come down to our house for a tea party, using my mom’s tea set.

When Kathleen was in the hospital in 2015, I took her a small arrangement in one of my mom’s teacups. When we were little girls, Mom used to serve us tea using her tea set. Kathleen recognized the cup.

When she passed away, her husband made sure the tea cup went to her granddaughter, Maxine.

Because of Covid, we weren’t able to get together for our tea party in 2020. However, when we returned from London, the time was right. “Tea” with my mother consisted of buttered toast and tea. However, I wanted to do the more elaborate Princess Tea like the one served at the Rubens Hotel. And I wanted to invite our great-grand niece, Everleigh, to join us with her great-grandparents.

We set the date for June 25, 2022 and sent out eVites.

I created a formal menu, just like we were given in London, printed them, and placed one at each place..

The princesses arrived right on time.

Maxine was dressed as Snow White, and Everleigh was Isabella from Encanto.

I set the dining room table with my good linen cloth and napkins—the ones my mother gave to me as a wedding shower gift over fifty-six years ago. Then I set out all the various items—ready to serve.

When we were seated, I poured tea—the freshly brewed variety. (Do you know how hard it is to find loose tea?)

They seemed to enjoy the food, as did the adults.

The week before was Everleigh’s fifth birthday, so we had cupcakes to celebrate, and her great-grandparents brought bags of favors. It turned into a birthday party!

After we ate, the girls entertained us by dancing and singing and “playing” the piano.

Casey took the girls to the backyard, where they played in the rock garden. 

And a lovely time was had by all!

The next morning, Larry said, “Watching the girls yesterday reminded me of you and Kathleen as little girls.” I realized he was right. We used to dance and sing and play for hours.

They had such a good time together, and it was as if Kathleen and I were together as girls again. And I smiled.