Tea Room Tales & Tidbits
Table of Contents
Fate
My son will soon be six.
, I remember saying to my girlfriends
while enjoying some iced tea by the pond that I had dug the summer
before. I was certain I had needed it for serenity. That and the grass
never grew in that spot of the yard anyway.
I passed out some old fashioned oatmeal cookies to the ladies as we sat soaking up the sun. They were talking about the funny little things (and some not so funny things), that their kids were getting into and how they were managing it. I was preoccupied. I had been given the word that I had better go out and find a job as soon as my youngest was off to grade one. I was panicking. What could I do? I had been a stay at home mom for the past ten years. What skills did I have?
Are you kidding me?
, questioned my closest friend of the group
with a mouth full. She struggled to swallow before blurting out the
next thought that came to her mind.
You should open a tearoom! These cookies are amazing. You
always cook in batches that are huge and I don't think that I have
ever eaten anything from your house that wasn't yummy. It's not like
you've been sitting around eating bonbons all these years.
She finished her last bite of cookie, wiped her hands on her jeans, and
held up her fingers to count, Let's see, you've also been running
your own home-based sewing business for seven years now. And don't
forget the fact that in that time you babysat and landscaped your
whole yard. You are full of great home decorating ideas; it's like
talking to Martha Stewart. How many skills do you need? You can do
anything Tam, I've seen it.
It had never occurred to me that those few things were actually considered skills. It had been years since I put a resume together and now; three kids later, I was faced with making some life-changing decisions. A tearoom? Memories from years ago came out of the foggy depths of my brain.
What should I do? How do I get started? Where do I go? How much money would I need? Could this save or break my already failing marriage? I needed to get some good advice. I knew nothing about running a tearoom business. My girlfriends all headed back to their homes to receive children and husbands, make meals, and finish up household chores. Each of them was prepared to do it all again the next day as well as go off to their part-time jobs. If they could do it, I could do it, too.
Summer came and went. The kids went back to school and signed up for their fall sports. Two out of three decided to do gymnastics with my firstborn deciding that she would like to try the trampoline classes. Excellent I thought it's all in the same building. Luckily most of the kids' classes ran simultaneously, give half an hour or so. It was doable but expensive. I then learned that I could train to be a coach and get a discount. That was even better. I signed up for a level one coaching course and started something new. Tearoom plans where on hold and left to incubate.
Then one day it happened. As I lay in a crumpled mass on the kitchen floor in a puddle of tears feeling lost and broken from a failed marriage, I heard a voice come in loud and clear from somewhere in the kitchen.
It is time.
Startled, I looked around and saw nothing. Again I heard a woman's strong voice stating that it was time. Baffled, I wiped away my tears, took a deep breath, and went outside into the serenity of the garden by the pond. I didn't know where that voice came from. I couldn't explain it but with the marriage counselling finished and my relationship no better, I understood the meaning. It was time to plan my future and take action for my own good. Days later, my girlfriend, Sarah called from Toronto. I had spent more time speculating the future and attempted to share my broken thoughts and worries. She; being the wisest and most organized of my friends (not to mention the one who knew me the longest), suggested that I go and visit her in Toronto for the weekend. We could catch up and hang out for a few days. She assumed I needed a break and she was right.
Wow, you are so pumped about this. Do you know anything about
running a tearoom? Have you ever worked in one before?
I choked on this and had to answer no
, but confirmed that I was
sure I could figure it out. She then, wise marketing guru that she is
said to learn with someone else's money before I spend the capital on
my own place. She also added the question, What if you don't like it?
What then?
We had a good time talking about numerous other things over the weekend that involved life-changing decisions on both our parts. She was at the beginning of her international marketing career and me at the revelation that my marriage was over. Now I could do whatever it was I needed to do if I put my mind to it. I arrived home safe and sound from the bus stop on Sunday only to find a message from my sister waiting on the answering machine. Apparently, she had heard that Faye was opening a tearoom in Port Elgin. I obviously needed to speak with this Faye person. This was my opportunity to get the experience I needed before opening my own place. I couldn't believe my luck. It really pays to have a sister who loves gossip and keeps her ears and eyes open at all times. The next day I tracked down Faye and asked her about her tearoom. I insisted that she hire me and wrote down my phone number on a scrap of paper. I asked her to give me a call when she was ready to open.
A few weeks passed and the phone rang, Could you come over to
my house for an interview?
Faye was making the final arrangements to open her tearoom. She showed me clean, white dishes, the blue and yellow table cloths, and shared some of the menu plans. Just like that, I was hired. She opened in November, just in time for the Christmas season. Faye was an avid businesswoman who was already established as a baker of Christmas cookies. In May 2000, I gave up coaching gymnastics and devoted more time to Faye's. I gained a year and a half of experience by serving and baking which helped me move closer toward my tearoom adventure.