Teabreaks don’t expire

I need you to know something about the Teabreak box sitting unopened in your cupboard.

It is not judging you.

February does not care that it is August.

The cake may have an expiry date.

Your Teabreak does not.

We can turn almost anything into homework

This is one of the strange talents of adulthood.

We take something designed entirely for enjoyment and somehow create a backlog.

The unread books.

The craft kit.

The series everyone said we would love.

The box we were excited to receive but did not have time to open when it arrived.

Suddenly something lovely starts giving us the same feeling as an unanswered email.

I really must get around to that.

And once the next thing arrives, it becomes:

I’m so behind.

No.

You are not behind.

There is nowhere you are meant to be.

Life happened

Maybe this month was chaos.

Maybe somebody was ill.

Maybe work was relentless.

Maybe you spent every evening driving children somewhere.

Maybe absolutely nothing dramatic happened and you simply did not fancy making anything.

That is allowed too.

A Teabreak is an invitation.

Not an obligation.

Please don’t “catch up”

I don't really want you to spend a frantic Sunday completing three months of projects because you feel you ought to.

Unless, of course, spending a Sunday doing three craft projects sounds absolutely brilliant to you.

Then go for it.

But do it because you fancy it.

Not because some imaginary Hummingbird timetable says March must be completed before April can begin.

Open whichever box you want.

Make Christmas in June.

Start something and leave it halfway through.

Read the book and save the project.

Eat the cake first.

There is no correct sequence.

The time is still there waiting for you

I actually rather like the idea of an old Teabreak appearing months later.

You open a cupboard looking for something else and spot it.

Oh! I never did that one.

And suddenly an ordinary afternoon has something waiting for it.

The lovely thing did not vanish because you were too busy when it first arrived.

You can still choose it now.

This matters beyond the boxes

I think “Teabreaks don’t expire” has become one of my favourite Hummingbird ideas because it is really about guilt.

We are so used to believing that if we did not make time for ourselves at the correct moment, we somehow failed.

But putting yourself back on your own list is not a perfect new habit you have to maintain.

There will be weeks when you do it.

Weeks when you forget.

Months when life is absolutely all over the place.

You just come back.

No punishment.

No starting again on Monday.

No I’m terrible at this.

Pop the kettle on.

The good mug is still there.

So if you have an unopened Teabreak…

Please do not look at it and see something you failed to do.

See a lovely little bit of time you have not used yet.

It is still yours.

And whenever you decide to take it, we will be very pleased to have you back.