Ya-Ya’s Tea-Board

… and finding it!
It is Saturday morning, eleven days after the earthquake. The dust has - quite literally - settled a little of the past 2 days.
Taking the dog on her morning walk, I started to notice that Nature has begun to get back to normal: a butterfly in all its beauty riding a lazy breeze, the grass pushing its tender, but incredibly resilient blades through the remaining layer of silt that covers most of our neighbourhood, the tentative return of the birds’ song - all sings of a “normal” autumn day in Christchurch. As a matter of fact, walking along the calm flow of the Heathcote River that seems so serene this morning, one could almost get the impression that everything was normal - if it wasn’t for the port-a-loos in the street and the layer of dust that remains after the large piles of liquefied silt were cleared over the last few days.

When I got back from the walk, I decided to enjoy the warmth of the early morning sun and sit down for a cup of tea to commemorate the events of the last ten days. To suit the occasion, I chose to use one of the few things that got damaged during the quake: one of my favourite teacups. It is perfectly usable, but two chips will always serve as a reminder of what has happened. As for the tea, our 2010 organic Ancient Palace Pu-erh with its calming chi seemed an appropriate choice to restore some inner peace and balance. And while slowly inhaling the deep, dark and sweet aroma of the tea, I start to relax. Looking at the grass pushing its way through the covering layer of sand in the backyard, I knew that we will get through these hard times and eventually, “she’ll be right” again. I knew that we will cope and for me personally, some good leaves will make it a whole lot easier.

Thanks for all your emails and good wishes. We highly appreciate your support and it really does make a difference in these difficult times to know that people care.

Tags [ christchurch earthquake | recovery | pu-erh ]