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Thursday, April 12, 2007

 

Tea, T, and Spontaneity


Barb, Jim, Emily, Thomas
Originally uploaded by marytsao.
I've decided that the British are very wise with their idea of taking tea. I participate in the ritual now, too. My tea time is around 3:00, in that lull time of the day that begs for either a nap or a drink or, in my case, a cup of tea and a moment in which I can ponder the day and think about what I'm going to make for dinner. Tea time!

Sometimes I also have a small snack with my tea, say a handful of almonds or a banana. Now you know.

Tonight after his bath, T was jumping around with a football and ran smack into the wall. He now has a bump on his forehead the size of his nose. Ouchie! I can feel my Mother of the Year award being snatched from my hands as I write this.

Moving on to the spontaneity party of this post... I sometimes chastise myself for not being more spontaneous. But it's not that I don't want to be spontaneous, because I do--really! I blame my lack of spontaneity on the system. It's difficult to be spontaneous when life seems to be made up of a multitude of events, all of which require me to purchase my tickets at least thirty days in advance and preferably the minute they go on sale. Have you noticed this? If you're a mom, of course you have. Let's take preschool for example. I had to tour and find a preschool for Emily nine months before she started, and some moms thought I was nuts for waiting that long. Today I tried to book a hotel room at Disneyland for mid-June. Were there any rooms available? Of course not. And to top off the idea that spontaneity is a dying art, I tried to get my sister and I reservations for dinner at French Laundry.

For tomorrow night.

Done laughing yet?

How was I to know that one of the most popular restaurants in the United States allows you to make reservations no more than two months in advance, which is another way of saying there's no way you can call on a Thursday for Friday night reservations. How was I to know? This isn't Pea Soup Anderson's we're talking about! It's the French Laundry!

Having completely given up on the idea of spontaneity existing in my life, I have penciled in my calendar on June 16, make dinner reservations at French Laundry for birthday dinner in August. I hope I live that long. I wonder if I should add an addendum to my will concerning who gets the reservations in the event of my untimely demise?

On a more upbeat note, I was able to make reservations at El Dorado Kitchen so that's where my sister Barb, her friend Jim, and I will be going for dinner tomorrow night after an afternoon of wine tasting in Sonoma. I'm playing the role of designated driver and they're playing the role of Bears fans. I can't wait. It's been a busy week of unpacking and--gasp!--working on some writing projects, and I'm ready for a day of fun.