I cherish every Mother Daughter Tea Party my daughter and I share.
She, my oldest daughter, is getting married next month.
#toomanyemotionsforme
These days before the wedding, my emotions roll like waves in the ocean.
My emotions rise with the joy of this happy milestone and fall with letting my baby go.
They crest with white foam while I embrace our new relationship as mom and married daughter, and cascade as I think about my little girl in feety pajamas with wild curly hair.
I guess I’m no different than most mommy-type humans.
Through the years, she has inscribed songs and poems of love on my motherly heart.
Resting in this moment, I will attempt to put into words what my affections have only allowed me to feel. I choose to write because I can’t free the words in my heart without tears muddying what I am trying to say. Although I do admit, I am afraid syllables might diminish this moment.
Mother Daughter Tea Parties Make Cherished Moments and Memories.
Our mommy and daughter tea parties go way back.
Our First Mother-Daughter Tea Party
Dearest Daughter,
I will never forget our first tea party. You were almost three years of age. Your pure white skin and sandy colored curly bobbed haircut matched your busy bouncing personality. You recently had lost a beautiful mom to an untimely death, a mom, who you wouldn’t remember but continues to thrive in your beauty and personality.
At the time, I had never had a daughter, only sons. Your Dad and I were soon to be engaged and begin life as man and wife with five beautiful kids. We met at a neighborhood park. Your Dad wrestled with your soon-to-be three new brothers and of course, your twin brother.
You invited me to tea on the jungle gym, and I accepted. Without hesitation, you called me Mom. I fought back my tears. I felt your loss, and I felt God’s grace as I prayed, “Lord, help me to be the mom she needs so that she can become the woman you want her to be.” You offered me sugar (sand) to sweeten my tea in my imaginary tea cup. I held one pinky up as is proper to do, and we used twigs to swirl our pretend hot beverage. I am so grateful that was the first of many tea parties.
One of the sweetest wedding presents your father and I received was a small china tea set for you and me. I kept it on a special shelf and took it down for special mom and daughter moments. We used real tea and real sugar, but our world was comprised of queens, kings, princesses, knights, and your wild imagination.
Mother and Daughter Growing Together Over Tea
Years of pretending gave way to years of growing together. I’m not sure when it happened, but our tea topics turned to questions about life, faith, choices, dilemmas, feelings, and finally boys. I thank you for trusting me with the secrets of your heart. I loved how we would swap prayer requests and scripture. I cherished the times we built each other up. I would teasingly say to my friends, “When I grow up, I want to be like my daughter.”
Then you found the one, the love of your life. I watched your faith grow, and your relationship get tighter with your Savior. I watched love bloom between the both of you as you grew together in Jesus and with each other. You found out that relationships are not all sunshine and meadows, but I admired the way you journeyed through unknown terrain asking for advice and seeking wisdom along the way.
Tea for Four
Your dad and I thank you for inviting us to a tea that we would never forget. You and Your Love via FaceTime on an iPad held steamy hot mugs of tea. Your father and I did the same while we conversed across internet waves. Your Love began, “We would like to talk to both of you about getting married. What should we do to prepare?”
I can’t tell you how honored we were that you invited us into that special moment. We so appreciated the respect and love you gave us. Thank you, it was a gift that your dad and I will treasure forever.
A Tea for the Bride-To-Be
Since we had shared hundreds of cups of tea through the years, I thought it would be fitting to share a few more cups of tea with family and friends as you prepare to become a wife. An amazing group of women gathered; most of them have watched you grow since you were a little girl.
They showered you with gifts to “feather your new nest” and with smiles and hugs of encouragement.
I had a special gift for you! After our long talks about God’s gift of sexuality, I thought you would appreciate “something special” for your wedding night.
But I had one more gift for you. Nineteen years ago, I hid a special box in our garage knowing that I would give it to you at your wedding shower. After all these years, I couldn’t wait for you to open it. Inside, neatly wrapped was your mother’s china set. The first piece of porcelain you lifted out of the box to show your guests was a tea cup. How perfect! Your mama in heaven must be wonderfully proud of you.
And finally, Dad showered you with another unexpected surprise. Wearing his suit and tie, he presented you with the pearls your late mama wore the day of her wedding.
One More Mother-Daughter Tea Before You Wed
I hope to have one more tea time with you, my dear one, before your wedding day. I want to sit and sip tea and smile at the future with you.
You are my daughter, my sister-in-Christ and now you are going to be a wife. I’m excited for all that God has planned for you and the Love-of-Your-Life in the coming years.
My Prayer…
May we always build each other up in our roles as women and sisters-in Christ. With God’s help, may we become wives that honor our husbands and reflect God’s mysterious love and grace to the world through our marriage.
After you and the love of your life become one, I pray we will have many more tea parties
Love,
Mom
Thank you for letting me share this moment with you. I wish I could have tea with all of you. I love how sisters-in-Christ lift each other up when life’s milestone moments happen.
From Our Home to Yours,
What advice would you give a new bride? What memories are you building with your daughter? Please share and uplift us all!
