Hi my name is Leigh and I’m an addict. Ok don’t panic, let me be clear. I’m a tea addict. I can’t remember the exact day I realized I had a problem but it’s something I live with everyday and until I get my fix I literally cannot function. Tea is one of my favorite things life has to offer and it’s the first thing I think of when I wake up to screaming kids. In my sleepy haze I stumble to the kitchen with kids clawing on me, and the first thing I do is flip the kettle switch. Oh that sound of the kettle warming up, it’s where all the anticipation begins, where the magic awaits. Yes this is how much I love my tea.

You can imagine my absolute horror when waking up this morning at the sparrows fart to yet another black out. What makes matters that much worse is that it would seem Brody has adopted my tea addiction and he too was not having any of it. If you could have seen the tantrums on display this morning, oh my word! He really put on a jolly good show. I know, how could I shout at him or tell him to stop crying? I mean, I get the guy, with drawls are bad. In desperation, I managed to use very hot water from the tap with very little milk and it did the trick. Well for him anyway.

This wasn’t quite going to cut it for me though. Besides having had one too many cold cups of cold tea over the last 4 years, anyone who makes good tea knows it’s an art. The water must be piping hot, you ALWAYS leave the tea to draw on its own for a minute or two and you NEVER squeeze the tea bag. I literally want to smack people over the head when I see them murder the tea bag by churning and stabbing it to death. Those who know better, realize the need to love and nurture the tea bag, to respect it, to allow it to do its job. ON ITS OWN! When you realise this, you will never forgive yourself for all the years you mistreated your teabags in the past. Please people, get educated, read books, watch you tube videos. Do anything, just don’t stay stuck in your old ways. My mom is right about a lot of things, good tea making being one of them. I thank her for teaching me this.

Just so we are clear, here’s a great link on making the perfect cup of tea. While all the rules are not always possible (like being there when the kettle boils to take it off at the right time), please for the love of tea, follow the simple rules! And yes, You’re welcome.

In my absolute ‘desperation’ I ran to the load-shedding schedule and realized I had another hour to go before the power came back on. Deep breaths. DEEEEEEEP breaths. Everything is going to be ok. It just so happened that as I was about to crack, my lovely neighbor came over with a flask of hot water. She of all people would know how ‘desperate’ I was (as I’m sure she could hear from all the screaming) But this bring s to what I really want to say. I have been so blessed by being surrounded by such lovely neighbors since moving in three months ago. And living in another apartment in the block for a year before. I have realized how we really have become quite a close knit little community. We watch each others kids, pop to the shops for each other, have play dates with the other moms and borrow anything from irons to children’s toys to baking ingredients.

While these black outs are really so trivial in the bigger scheme of world problems, knowing that someone was thinking about me enough to bring me a flask of hot water, kinda restored my faith in humanity. With all the nonsense going on the world and all the trivial and silly things we get upset about, its wonderful to know the goodness of people still exists. Even if it’s in the smallest of gestures, these small acts of kindness can really go a long way. In my little situation, it made a rather grumpy mom a very happy one. It made me think about how I have stopped going out of my way for others sometimes. How in the business of my own life I don’t always stop to contemplate other peoples situations or think of ways I can help others in desperate circumstances.

I’m on a mission to find ways to help my community at large, by either volunteering my time, money or skills. It’s time we start teaching our kids by leading by example right? So I’m going to do my best to find something we can do as a family. Something that will enable us to engage with the less fortunate so that my children will learn a wonderful little thing called empathy. Until then keep drinking good tea and watch this space.

Do you know what will be even better? If you have any ideas of how a small family can help our community, please comment with links to different organizations, homes and hospitals in the western cape area or tell me of some fun ways our kids can help better the lives of others.

Hi I’m Leigh! Did you enjoy reading this post? I really hope so and would love you to stick around a little longer! Please feel free to browse my blog for other articles or to keep up with all the latest news and to be the first to hear about some great competitions, come and find me me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can also email me directly at leeloobaggins@hotmail.com or simply subscribe below and never worry about missing out!