Sunday, December 30, 2007

Tea Time!


photo used with permission by Emmy C. Ludwig

http://emmalynne.etsy.com
http://emmyludwig.com

This photograph was taken by an awesome photographer with tremendous talent!! All of her images are truly breathtaking! A dear friend of mine (Amy) gave me Emmy's shop name in Etsy - this is where I happened upon the photograph. The moment I saw it - it totally captivated me. It spoke more than a thousand words to me . . . . yet left me speechless. Time seemed to stand still for that moment as my mind went back about 20 years or so. Let me take you with me for a moment to that special time in my childhood. I was probably about 7 or 8 years old the very first time it happened. My brother, John, was 2 years my senior. The weather outside was cold, probably late November or early December. My Mom gently put her hand on my arm to wake me up - "Sandy...it's time to get up for a tea party!" It was probably around midnight. John and I followed Mom to the dining room and sat around the wood stove. Dad was hunting, so it was just the three of us. We sat in front of the warm, crackling fire and drank our hot tea (Bigelow's Constant Comment, of course!). As a child this was the neatest thing - I felt so special! My Mother would do this periodically - always a surprise (except I think I might have put in a couple special requests)! She loved the tea parties as much as John and I did. I could see her face light up as she would reminisce about her childhood and tell us stories. I loved asking her questions. She would tell us of her parents whom we never got to meet. Other times we would just chat about everyday things. It was a very sweet time in my childhood. As the years went by, my father stopped hunting and so ended the tea parties. I think if there were ever a time that I could go back to, even for a minute, that would be one of them! It's a favorite memory of mine. I will probably do tea parties with my children in a few years as they get a little older. I hope they love them as I did!!
You can imagine my surprise, when one day I got a little package in the mail. It was the "Tea Time" photograph by Emmy C. Ludwig. A gift from my friend Amy!! Thank you Amy!! I was so touched! This is a little tribute to you! I thank God for you and what a blessing your friendship is to me! And of course I cannot forget to say thank you for setting my blog up for me! What an awesome gift!

Wednesday, December 19, 2007