Teapots for the Backyard

My brother and I routinely had tea parties in our backyard. These were not average tea parties with little cookies and finger sandwiches, though. They were chaos. We typically had two or three mismatched sets out at once and filled each teapot with a different drink. These would include sweet tea, some flavor of Kool-Aid or Hawaiian Punch, water, or occasionally milk of various flavors. We would feast on dry cereal poured onto the tiny plates and often end up drinking straight from the teapots, all the while incorporating them into our make-believe games as an antidote for the poisoned cookies or the treats we left for Santa (specifically Tim Allen’s portrayal). Yet each time we went to fill up the teapots, we would complain that they smelled weird. Of course, the only response our mom offered us was, “Please stop putting milk in the teapots.”

Stoneware (2023)