Just tea, thank you.

I have been driving my mom to and from work occasionally this week. On one of these trips, I noticed a building downtown called "J. Alfred Prufrock's." Having just completed a Modern Poetry course and reading "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" I got really excited. I asked Mom what the building was, eager to try a coffee shop I had never been to. It's a Martini Bar, which I am not old enough to visit, nor would I.

Disappointment set in. It would have made sense for it to be a coffee bar, "I have measured out my life with coffee spoons." (Eliot) I would have eagerly gone with pen and paper and spent hours writing while, "In the room the women come and go, Talking of Michelangelo."

I like coffee, specifically "froo-froo" coffee as my mom's old boss so aptly named it. It has to have a flavored creamer and at least one packet of Splenda. It's just the way I roll. 

Now, my favorite beverage (aside from Diet Coke) is Earl Grey tea. There are other teas that I will drink as well. And I will drink it hot or cold, brewed inside or out. I just love it. (With a packet of Splenda is still the best.) 

And if Prufrock can measure out his life in coffee spoons, why can't I use tea spoons? 

Not only do I enjoy tea because it tastes good, it is also a form of connection for me. See, when I drink a cup of Earl Grey with a sewing project underway or a story coming forth from my fingers I feel connected. I feel connected to my dad who enjoys cold tea, and my mom who enjoys hot tea. I feel connected to those that have influenced me: Tolkien, Lewis, Austen. I am sipping tea with Hobbits, Professor Kirke, and the Bennets. 

I hope that some day there will others who will sip tea and feel connected to me, not in relation to these Greats, but as a connector to them. 

"Can I get you some tea, or perhaps something a little stronger?" [Bilbo Baggins]

...because they love you.

It's safe to say that I've had the Lord of the Rings on my mind a lot lately.

I've been watching the Lord of the Rings with my brother the last couple days, and I plan on having a movie marathon with a friend next week sometime. (Extended Editions, in one day... yes, that's a lot of movie watching.)

Next semester I'm doing an independent study on the literary works. I can hardly express in words how excited I am. My love for Tolkien's Middle Earth started in about fourth grade... and the Hobbit was the book that sparked my love for reading. If it weren't for Tolkien I probably wouldn't be an English major or a writer.

I just love it. And I love the characters.

Now, I love the Aragorn/Arwen relationship, I really truly do. But, today while I was watching the Return of the King with my brother I realized how much I sympathized with Eowyn. I mean, as much as I love Aragorn/Arwen, I find myself rooting for Eowyn because I've been there.

I don't know why it just hit me today... it's not like I don't know the story inside out. Maybe it's because my most acute case of unrequited love is still so fresh in my mind.

I said out loud, while Aragorn was turning Eowyn down, "Bah! It's okay Eowyn, I feel ya! I just want someone to love me, too..."

My brother didn't even skip a beat, "I love you, Anna Boo!"

My own personal Eomer. God has truly blessed me. If I have an Eomer and an Aragorn in my life... I even have a creepy Wormtongue... surely I have a Faramir too. I just hope he doesn't take very long to introduce himself.

"It is but a shadow and a thought that you love. I cannot give you what you seek. I have wished you joy since first I saw you." ~Aragorn (movie)

Now, where to begin?

Yes. A third blog. Why on earth could one person possibly need three blogs? Well, let me tell you. The first blog I started (Brightness in Brokenness) is a ministry tool, I post devotions there. The second blog (The 365 Days of Christmas) is a way for me to keep myself in check, it's a challenge I have given myself. If you're reading this and thinking, "I've never heard of those..." I invite you to check them out. However, this blog is going to be totally unrelated.

See, I love writing. And often times I find myself in a positively wretched state where I want to write but I don't have a place in which that writing fits. These other blogs have very specific purposes, this one will not. The only purpose this blog will serve is that it will harbor my thoughts and scribbles. 

One thing you will learn is that I adore quotes. I bet you didn't know that when I titled this post I was very specifically quoting Bilbo Baggins from the Lord of the Rings (movie). Sometimes I'll get stuck on a quote and I just have this urge to write off of it, but I have no real place I want that "scribble" to go. Well, maybe I'll let this place be the outlet for such things. 

I'm very eager to get started. 

"The road goes ever on and on, down from the door where it began, and I will follow if I can..."