Tea For Two

It’s difficult sitting on the sidelines, watching my son advance into adulthood. This past summer, there were so many times I wanted to tell him what to do or fix his problems, but I refrained, only offering my parental advice. He’ll be 20 years old next month. I love my son, Eric, so much and want him to achieve happiness and joy in his life. As part of his Life journey, he made the decision to move back to Matthews, North Carolina with his father. While we all agreed it was most likely the best choice for Eric, it is still difficult to live so far away from him. But, I’ve been here before, and I know that one day, Eric will move back to Austin. Austin is where Eric wants to live and work eventually.

I asked Eric to set aside a Mom & Son Night for the two of us, and to select a restaurant and movie for us. So, the night before Eric left town, Eric drove me to his current favorite Austin restaurant – Jade Leaves Teahouse.

“Tea for two
And two for tea
Just me for you
And you for me…”

--From the film "Tea For Two" (1950), starring Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, Gene Nelson & Patrice Wymore

This quiet, oriental teahouse and restaurant is situated right next door to a yoga studio. The atmosphere is very peaceful and quite lovely. Great attention has been paid to details, such as the entry way flooring, which gave me the sensation of walking down a smooth rock path and the seating areas, which are situated in sections of two tables enclosed with divider panels of ornately carved, dark wood. The feeling was one of intimacy and privacy.

Eric had been to a number of their tea tastings, meeting the Tea “Barista”, and he learned a great deal about the various types of tea that Jade Leaves serves. Eric ordered a pot of Imperial Guanyin, an organic Chinese Oolong tea. The description of the tea stated that Imperial Guanyin was an extra special variety of the Guanyin oolongs literally fit for royalty. It is a premium high grade, handcrafted Green Oolong from Fujian Province. The description also stated that oolongs were known to aid digestion and cure headaches.
I don’t drink tea, but I did taste the Imperial Guanyin, which had an interesting floral and earthy flavor.

For our dinner, Eric ordered the Thai Noodle Soup and I had the Yellow Thai Curry with Chicken. The curry also came with a serving of rice that was shaped like a yin yang symbol.

Both meals were wonderfully fresh, delightfully seasoned and delicious to the taste! And, the service was great! I give Jade Leaves Teahouse 4 out of 5 happy faces! ☻☻☻☻☺

Afterward, we saw the movie, “Surrogates”, with Bruce Willis. Although somewhat typical of a Bruce Willis flick, the movie was full of action-packed scenes, great special effects and futuristic intrigue. My assessment of “Surrogates” is 3 out of 5 happy faces. ☻☻☻☺☺

All-in-all, my son and I had a great time together eating, talking and being entertained. I guess no matter how old he gets, I’ll always miss Eric when he’s away. I pray for him every day and look forward to seeing how the chapters of his life unfold. I wonder what Eric will be when he grows up? I hope he will grow up to be wise.

“Mothers all want their sons to grow up to be President, but they don't want them to become politicians in the process.” – John F. Kennedy

“The day the child realizes that all adults are imperfect, he becomes an adolescent; the day he forgives them, he becomes an adult; the day he forgives himself, he becomes wise” – Alden Nowlan

The Road to Adulthood Ain’t For Sissies, Y’all!