Writing exercise: The Ritual.

There is a very excellent book The Five Minute Writer by Margret Geraghty.  It contains 58 different writing exercises that you can cram into any spare five minutes you have in your day in order to better hone your craft.  No doubt you'll see a number of these exercises cropping up in this blog in the near future as my copy of the book arrived in the mail a few days ago.

So the first writing exercise is to write about a ritual in my own life.  Because even though we don't always recognize them, we all have our own little rituals.  Habits that we follow without thinking to help us cope with daily life.

Here's mine.

The ritual:

For me there is nothing quite like the first cup of tea of the day.  After making sure the jug has plenty of water, I flick the switch.  As it begins to bubble, I reach into the cupboard and pull down my favourite cup.  It's purple, with a generous sized handle and is just the right size for a good, strong cup of tea.

Then I need to make a choice.  Is it a lucky or unlucky day? Am I going to have time to enjoy a fancy cup of Parisian Earl Grey before the baby wakes from her morning nap? Or is it going to be one of those days where the baby refuses to be sleep and I'll be lucky if I get to drink my English Breakfast while it's still lukewarm?

With the decision made, the teabag goes into the cup along with a miserly teaspoon of sugar (I'm trying to reduce my sugar intake).  The boiled water is poured in and a fragrant steam rises as the tea begins to steep.  I know it may sound a little crazy, but to me, there is nothing more sensual, more invigorating than the scent of that first tea of the day.  For me, that is when the day truly begins.

After the tea is sufficiently brewed (I like my tea strong), the teabag is pulled out and a dash of milk added.

Then, I take my tea out and settle myself to enjoy it.  Assuming the baby lets me.

~//~

I do love my tea.  What rituals do you have in your own life?

Until next time, keep dreaming.