Tea and sympathy: Finding the good in a bad day
It was one of those days It started by “getting up on the wrong side of the bed,” as my mother used to say. Of course, I got up on the same side I usually do—the reluctant and grumpy side. I’m not really sure if it’s due to biology or habit, but I’m not a morning person. At least not while I’m still in bed. If nature didn’t call, I could probably stay propped against the pillows, snuggling with the dog and my iPhone until noon. Once I will myself out from under the covers, brush my teeth and stagger to the kitchen to put on the kettle, I start to perk up a bit. I didn’t think I’d survive when I gave up coffee last December but here I am, ten months later, alive after all and hooked on a particular green tea with hints of spearmint and lemongrass. I took the dog for a quick spin around our neighborhood park, which is “home” during the day to many who have nowhere else to go. Men and women with their carts and shopping bags and bedrolls camp out all day, every day...