By Lee Scott
Living with someone requires a lot of give and take. Whether a roommate, a spouse or other family member, each person must learn to respect the other’s belongings and share in the workload of the home.
Many people living in the same house set up boundaries to avoid conflict. For us, there was a particular sensitive area recently that had to be resolved. It had to do with the iced tea pitcher.
We never drank iced tea until we moved to South Carolina. He had his diet soda and I drank my coffee. But it wasn’t long before we started to share the southern tradition of drinking iced tea and we began making pitchers of iced tea at home.
And that is when the trouble started.
One day I noticed a devious look on his face as he was rushing out the door carrying a full glass of iced tea in his hand. I went to the refrigerator and there it was, a nearly empty pitcher of tea.
I ran out the front door, “Get back here you!!”
“Bye, Honey!” he yelled.
So we started to play the game. If one opened the refrigerator and noticed only about a glass of iced tea left, we would only pour half a glass and then return the pitcher to the refrigerator.
Then there was the time I was leaving the house on my way to the store having just poured myself a full glass of tea leaving only a tablespoon of tea in the pitcher.
“Foul!” he yelled after me as I drove out of the driveway laughing my head off. Eventually, we discovered Lipton’s Cold Iced Tea. It is so easy to make. You fill up the pitcher with cold water and hang two tea bags on the side. The label says to leave the bags in for 5 minutes, but we have been known to leave it on the counter for hours. If that happens, do not wring out the teabags.
This newfound freedom has brought about a new routine in our home and along with it more peace. No more running out of the house with a half glass of tea. It is so easy to make that we call it our bottomless pitcher of iced tea. Conflict resolved … now about that unmade bed.
