Tealationships

As I stood kneading dough near my kitchen counter, I thought about Preeti’s latest prompt for Tea for Tuesday: Can a relationship be like a tea-stain?

Within no time, I realized that tea and relationships have so many things in common.

Some relations are like sweet tea. You always feel good about them. That tea never goes wrong; there’s a perfect balance and blend of water, sugar, tea, and milk.

Some relations are like shallow tea. You always think something’s amiss, but you can’t figure out why.

Some relations are like tea which no matter how long or how strong you brew, it never tastes good or right.

Some relations are like hot tea which falls on you and scalds you in the process. If you get hurt once, it’s acceptable to continue the relation. But if you get hurt again, there’s no point in brewing the tea.

Some relations are like tea addictions. You know too much is wrong; but you can’t break away.

Coming back to Preeti’s prompt, my answer is: Yes and No. Some relations can be like mild tea stains. If something in the relation hurts you, you judge how hurt you were. You also ponder on how important the relation is to you. You try to let go. You use the strongest detergent to get rid of the tea stain. No matter how hard you wash, the stain takes its own time in going away. Some relations and the memories we associate with them are like mild tea stains: the bad ones fade away with time, love, and nurturing from both sides.

Yet, some relations are like tough tea stains. No matter how hard you wash, the stain never goes away. And if you are badly hurt, the stain may go away one day, but to you, the stain is always there.

In the end, life’s all about enjoying a good cup of tea and forgetting the stainsJ