Sipping my drink then glancing down, I frowned. Hot water would have been less disappointing. It was my third time to use the peppermint tea bag that floated in my cup.
I drink my herbal tea sparingly, not knowing when I’ll get more. When someone is coming from Canada and offers to bring a gift, it’s my first request. My brother and his wife had asked just that. And the morning’s disappointment was outweighed by the excitement of their arrival – I’d be heading to the airport in a few hours.
As I waited, the grocery shelves of Canada felt more distant than usual.
I knew, when we left Canada, I would be giving up little luxuries. China, thirteen years ago, was no land of plenty – especially in the small city that was our home. It didn’t matter that Brian and I had little to spend – there was nothing to buy. China’s changed, but it’s grocery store shelves are still not home to herbal teas or the treats I enjoyed as a child.
And for that reason, we know generosity in a way I could never have imagined.
Christmas morning will pale in comparison to the arrival of Dan and Yvonne. Chocolate bars, baking supplies, piles of chocolate chips, genuine maple syrup, and books and games for kids overflowed from their luggage and filled our home with bits of the home we left behind.
Thank-you friends and family from Goderich, for your overwhelming generosity and for sending your love with Dan and Yvonne, across the ocean.
We revelled in our early Christmas!
Charity, it would be SO hard to give up herbal tea!!! Feeling your pain and grateful with you for gifts we might otherwise take for granted. Makes them that much sweeter, doesn’t it? Raising my teacup to your early Christmas celebration! Hugs!
Thanks, to a fellow herbal tea drinker;) Yes, going without does make the simple things sweeter. Hugs to you, too, Pearl!
So wonderful!
Thanks, Sylvia!
I totally get it! Enjoy!!!
Thanks, Kathryn.
Yay! Coastal Coffee
Yes! Brian is a happy guy!
A treasure chest for sure!!
Yes, it was!
Yes! We’re feeling spoiled!