When I had a double knee replacement I had several rough days. However, not everything that happened in the hospital was a bad memory by any means. I had a supportive family and friends who were there regardless of the weather or obligations.
One of my best friends, Becky Doerflinger, came to visit me twice while I was in the hospital. The second time Becky visited was two days after my drug allergic psychosis. I was better by then but not 100%. Becky knew nothing about what had happened and that was the way I wanted it.
Becky and I met at the mental hospital where we both worked back in 1999. We hit it off immediately. We both shared a love of art, writing, and a great sense of humor. In my opinion, Becky could have easily walked off the page of a Charlotte Bronte novel or poem. She is a person blessed with an 'old soul'. She can transport people to other times and places with the whim of a good idea. I think that is a rare quality few people have. Those who have it and share their uniqueness with others are blessed in a thousand different ways. Becky's old soul has made my life better many times.
Since we both worked 11-7 shift and had different days off; it was not unusual for Becky to call me at 1:30 a.m. and want to know if I would like to come out to her house for a tea party on my 2 a.m. break.
Becky reintroduced me to tea parties as an adult. She also helped bring back the magic I enjoyed as a little girl when I created fairy gardens all over my grandmother's back yard and had tea parties of my own with the faeries. I always jumped at the chance to spend my break at Becky's house. It was a great stress reliever. Each party was different. Never once did we have two parties with the same theme. My favorite party was held outside her home in her flower garden. It was early summer. She had lights scattered all over her beautiful yard. The smell of roses, lilacs, peonies, and flowers I never knew the names filled the air with a rich aroma of Mother Nature. There was a full moon and the added light was the perfect touch. A full moon in a mental hospital is usually anything but 'perfect'. More fights happen during a full moon than at any other time. Everyone is restless, including the staff. To be able to walk into another environment was wonderful and a great escape. I could feel the anxiety leave as I walked toward the garden.
Becky had a table set with a white lace tablecloth covering it from one end to the other. Candles were scattered among the dishes on the table. The teapot was sitting close to where Becky would serve. Small sandwiches and little cakes nestled in the midst of tea cups, plates and napkins. Everything was delicious and it was such fun to laugh and talk about things that did not matter. Usually she had a radio playing. I could stay about forty minutes. That forty minutes changed my night. I would return to work in a better mood and with a touch of magic on my shoulder. When you work in a mental hospital for the criminally insane, a touch of magic on the shoulder is always a plus.
While I was in the hospital recently, Becky came in one night pushing a cart filled with glass cups,china plates, knives, forks and the most beautiful teapot I had ever seen. She was laughing and so happy. I was scared crazy. I still thought I was on a locked ward and everything Becky had with her was against the rules. We were in deep dodo!! While I was glad to see her, I kept asking her if she had permission to do this. She assured me everything was fine. I kept having flashbacks when the ward resembled the "Killing Fields" a few days ago.
Becky poured the tea and I picked up a beautiful Christmas cookie. I had no appetite. Looking at food made me sick to my stomach. I drank the tea but did not touch the cookie. That in itself tells how sick I was because I never pass on a pretty cookie!
I kept questioning Becky about the china and knives. I knew we were about to be locked in seclusion if a nurse walked in. Finally I told Becky what had happened. She was surprised to hear what I had to say but she understood completely. She had seen it before. We had a good long talk and then she gave me the teapot. In a few months she will be moving to California and she wanted me to have it. It has a special place in my mother's china cabinet. Maybe some day I can have a tea party for my grandchildren.
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