I like afternoon tea.
I like afternoon tea at snooty hotels.
I partake of all of these things at a somewhat greater frequency than what we'll call "normal people," so it's no surprise that "tea at snooty hotel" was on my 50 for 50 list. And (much like Escape Rooms), tea is probably going to show up in my 50 for 50 adventures more than once. But it officially got checked off the list today, at the lovely Fairmount Olympia here in Seattle, with my friend Margret.
Margret was a former coworker. We became friends pretty much instantly when she was hired, and even travelled together once. (We went up to Whitehorse Canada and saw the Northern Lights. There are many pictures of us dogsledding together.) But she left the court after a few years to go back to Seattle, be with family, and rejoin law firm life. If you need legal advice on ERISA, she's your woman.
It is the nature of the work experience that co-workers come and go -- retirements, career changes, moving away -- there are any number of reasons that people you are used to seeing five days a week pass in and out of your life. But I did MISS Margret, because she was a genuinely fun person and a good friend, and I really only kept up with her afterwards with a brief email exchange every six months or so.
When I realized the train trip would bring me up to Seattle, I immediately contacted her in the hopes we could sneak in a 50 for 50 thing. (This was back when we were going to come up in May.) She was going to be away for the weekend, but would be back in time for a quick tea on Monday. Great! Let's do it! When the derailment forced us to move the trip, we ended up rescheduling for ... another weekend that Margret was going to be out of town. But she offered to come back a day early so we could still have tea!
Met her in the Fairmount lobby and ended up spending 2 1/2 hours lingering over tea. (Blueberry scones with apricot preserves -- nummy. The tea sandwiches looked very small, but were filling, particularly on top of two scones and followed by, like, four bite-sized desserts. Nothing was extraordinary, but it was all solidly good. On the Tastiness scale, I'd give it about a 7. None of which, of course, was the point.) The point was the catching up with Margret -- lots of news there. Big things like making partner and buying a house and adopting a dog. Little things (but just as important) like baking challah and trying to figure out exactly WHICH type of classical musical she likes (something I've never quite figured out for my own self). We talked and laughed and hugged (and I forgot to take a picture) and it was so delightful finding out where our lives had followed similar paths (and where we completely diverged). I know it's probably going to be another few years before I see her again, but I'm pretty sure the next time I do, we'll just pick up where we left off.
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