“Strange how a teapot can represent at the same time the comforts of solitude & the pleasures of company” -Zen Haiku

Last week, my good friend Amber and I had a much needed girl's day in Idaho Falls where we legally changed our names and shopped at craft stores for hours and chatted about how much our husbands would have hated it. We also went to an antique store downtown we found while we were walking back to our car. It was one of those really big antique stores, and it didn't take long for Amber and I to get split up and then enthusiastically shout across the store for the other to look at a pair of earrings or an old coffee table.

Having recently developed at taste for fruity herbal tea, I went searching for a teapot. And when I finally found a bookshelf full of them, all the teapots blurred out, and one glowed and sang to me. I reached for it as though it was magnetic. It's shape was not traditional, yet it was not modern. It was not all one color, yet did not have a funky design. It matched my kitchen and my personality. Finding this teapot was like being reunited with an old friend. I grabbed it off the shelf with both hands and frantically dodged the antique clocks and farm tools calling Amber's name. All she had to do was look at me, and she knew that I would probably never stop talking about that teapot. I rambled off how much I loved it, but the price tag was a little high (not abnormal, just a little high for a budgeting newlywed). I wondered aloud in my rambling if they had lay away. With no hesitation Amber said: "Whatever, I'll buy it for you for Christmas."

I almost fainted. I did the typical "no, no you don't have to do that" but she never recanted her offer, and how could I put my long lost sister teapot back on the shelf if I had a saintly friend who was willing to rescue her?

All the way to the register I asked Amber, "Are you sure? Are you sure? It's really okay." But Amber knew just as much as I did that I had fallen in love. And true love lasts a lifetime.

My teapot sits on my kitchen table as a new, often used centerpiece. I have it sitting on a tray with a cup and saucer and a thing of sugar so I can take it out to the living room if I want. Sometimes I drink my tea by myself, and other times I drink it with lots of people. And even though Amber hates herbal tea, I think of her with every new cup. Because I'm really grateful for my new teapot and the relationship we've formed. Almost as grateful as I am for my friendship with Amber.