Tea: Ti Kuan Yin Oolong (morning)/Fruit Medley (night)

Music: Carols, carols everywhere.

Time: Night.

Yet another tea-infused post.

The day began at 5:30, helping one child after another with end of the semester papers. (No, I didn't write them. I proofread. That's it.)

That's where the Ti Kuan Yin came in. (Kuan Yin is the Chinese goddess of mercy, hence the alternative name for the tea: "Iron Goddess of Mercy.") That's not my theology, but a cup of wakefulness -- aromatic with flowers and grass -- that early in the morning is indeed a grace and a mercy.

Friend/collaborator/undefinable kindred spirit Seánan Forbes recommended the Fruit Medley for my son, who is nursing a nasty cough. She had me steep it with cloves, add honey, put in a cinnamon stick and have him sip it through the night.

Sounded good, so I made the second steeping for myself. Medicine has never tasted so good -- not that I was coughing, mind you. But an ounce of prevention ...