Dry Thyme

I was a very lazy student when it comes to organizing my back-bag. I should have the books and notebooks based on my class schedule for the day but I was lazy enough to through everything in my bag and not to worry about the subjects for the day. Yes, the heavy weight with the summer heat almost killed me, but for me it was easier than planning and organizing. My Middle school was forty five minutes walking distance from my house. I used to walk myself most of the time and few times I’ll have a company but they will be leaving my train one by one„ to the last station I will be amusing myself by kicking anything in my way, cans, stones, and even sand when there is nothing else -in this line I answered my dad’s regular question “why I have to buy you a new shoes every few months?”-

When I step in the house I used to have contradictory feelings, the first is the comfort of being home in the shade and throwing my back-bag off my shoulders right next to the door, noticing the sweat marks on my blue shirt. The second was being sad because I am going to be in the grocery store within few minutes. I used to walk to the living room not seeing everyone clearly because it takes my eyes a while to get used to the shade after spending 45 minutes under the noon bright sun, then I will lay in front of the TV hoping that my mom will forget today to ask me to get up and open the store. But as usual it’s just five minutes to catch my breath then she will start asking me to get up and open the store. I never answered from the first time, after few times I give up and start dragging myself but to the kitchen not the store.

The first thing I used to do in the kitchen is to put the teapot on the stove, it’s a medium size teapot which is enough to make eight cups of tea. Then take two loafs of bread off the freezer and leave them next to the stove to unfroze them. One big spoon of black tea leaves, five spoons of sugar and little of sage herbs in the teapot then close the led. wait, wait, and wait, the tea will boil for a while but I will keep it until the boiled tea will push the led up then I’ll turn it off. While waiting on the tea I used to toast my bread on the stove also and the my trick was to keep the heat low and keep flipping the loaf until you smell the crispy spots on the surface.

Carrying my teapot in my right hand with a small bowl of thyme and a shiny glass cup in my left while holding my two loafs of bread with my left elbow. I used to walk into the living room again but this time to sit on the floor right on the tile to cool off like a dog after a walk in the heat. I had a funny way of sitting because my hands were full and I needed to balance my body so I used to lay my back on the wall then slide down distributing my weight between my legs and my back. When I sat I crossed my legs (Indian style) and kept the thyme bowl in the little corner shaped by my legs. I put the bread on my leg because I don’t want it to cool of from the tile, I like it hot and finally pour some tea. While waiting on the tea to cool off for the right temperature my mom will look at me and ask me “how come you eat dry thyme without olive oil or without any vegetables?” and my answer was always ” because I like it this way”

A piece of toasted pitta bread covered with thyme then a sep of hot tea they have to be mixed all in my mouth, a mix of flavors was the prefect for my tasting sense. For more than two years that was my habit. The funny thing was that despite the fact that I was in the living room where everyone else was around me I don’t remember any of the stories or I don’t have any memories from that spot except the 5 tea cups I used to drink, thyme, two loafs of bread, my mom’s comments about my unhealthy diet and her calls to go open the grocery.