[Little Bill]

Use the proper making of tea a test in the courtship dance.

I was a required part of the upbringing of a young woman when I was young, an essential social skill to impress the mothers of the young man they were trying to trap into marriage.

To the young men in this situation tea was the last thing on their minds, but the statement, “She is nice but so common, was a death knell.” from dear old Ma.

Regretfully I did not listen to the suggested death of the relationship.

Years later I came into possession of a photograph showing my dear old Ma working her womanly wiles on my Father in a Bar in Boston during WW2.

She was smoking hot, she was Black Irish and smoking hot is something usually attributed to them, and she had the He is mine and no one Else's look.

Neither of my grandmothers approved even though she could serve tea in the approved manner.

[MHGinTN]

I'm almost 69 years old. I have lived a good life mostly because I emjoy 'rituals'. Tea is a ritual. The first present I bought for my first wife, as an engagement present was a beautiful little blue tea pot. She could make great scones, so we had this little ritual of afternoon tea and scones and intimate conversation. I miss that woman so much ... but I digress.

There are lots of rituals in life that should be observed, to bring deeper meaning to living than just floating through. I'm convinced one of the aspects to drug addiction is the ritual shared with other addicts. They even have little paraphernalia assigned just for their ritual.

There are deeply spiritual rituals too. Like making love to your wife under the covers of a warm bed on a cold night. And the Eucharist, where one opens the soul to The Lord and receives absolution and embrace from the One in Whom The Grace of God resides.