The Chaplain is working more. I am walking, sewing, and reading less and parenting more. Quiet time has become an elusive ghost of a former life when I got to be alone for a period of time each day.

It feels like we are all in a constant negotiation for what we need, the kids and The Chaplain and I, and none of us are quite getting what we’re looking for.

So it was as we rearranged our dining room around a new piece of furniture, and my grandmother’s teacups came to the kids’ attention. They asked if we could have a tea party.

It happened that the night before, hungry but too tired to make anything, the Chaplain had gone to Stewarts and gotten milk so we could have cereal for dinner, and also got eggnog.

I suggested to the kids we have an eggnog tea party.For the rest of the day, my youngest daughter sulked because it wasn’t time for the tea party yet.

I went for a hike with a friend in the morning, cleaned sections of the house, hung a Large and Heavy Mirror with my Bare Hands, and painted the first coat of an acidic green color on the walls of my teenaged daughter’s closet bedroom.“Are you sure you don’t like it?” She asked more than once as I slathered the Nickolodeon slime-colored paint on the walls.

“Yes, I’m sure.”

Finally, I needed a break. And we still hadn’t had our tea party.I told the kids I needed to be left alone in the kitchen for a little while. I told them I would make chapati to go with our eggnog, and that when it was finished, we would have our party. Until then, I did not want to be disturbed.

Some of them respected this. But there are so many of them that the two or three that decided to ignore my request meant that I did not get to be alone in the kitchen.This was my third batch of chapati this week. We ran out of bread and with the strangely crazy schedule of trying to get school done with the kids each day and the Chaplain’s work hours, no one had had time to go to the store (for anything besides milk and eggnog, that is). When we got desperate for carbs (or toast with our breakfast) I would just make a quick batch of chapati.

My “alone time” in the kitchen, between interruptions both legitimate and illegitimate, eventually resulted in a batch of chapati. And after making chapati all week, I had gotten better at it.

I did not use butter to grease the pan, leave the cooking chapati unattended, or fill the house with smoke. I did not have to turn on the air filtration machine, open windows, or use the whole house fan to empty the house of smoke like the last two times this week.I just made the chapati. Every piece came out crisp-soft and golden. When I’d taken the last two off the tawa (an Indian frying pan), I took the plate out to the dining room and announced it was time for tea.

If I have my guess, tea with eggnog and chapati will become a holiday tradition. It didn’t require much effort. It was one of the rare moments when everyone was vibing. With so many different personalities, most of us in a room and everyone happy with the same activity is a rare treat.

What is your favorite, low stress Christmas tradition? How did it come to be?

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Want to try some chapati? I don’t pretend to be an expert, but this recipe is simple. The kids all agreed that even the chapati that filled the house with smoke tasted as good as the pretty, golden chapati I made for the tea party.

Combine 2 cups of flour, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp salt. Add a little less than 3/4 cup warm water in increments, mixing in between.

As the dough starts to glom together, start kneading it with your hands in the bowl until smooth and elastic.

Let it rest for a bit, then break it into balls which you roll out. I used a stone rolling pin on a granite counter top so I wouldn’t dry them out with more flour. Roll the dough as thin as a flour tortilla.

Heat the frying pan on medium, then grease with vegetable oil or spread butter – you can smear a little spread butter on the chapatis as you put them on the pan if the oil is starting to get used up.

It doesn’t take long to cook each one – about a minute total or a little longer.

As you put one on the pan, check the others to see if they are ready to flip or remove from the heat – when both sides have brown spots.This type of bread is lovely for tea, but it also would be a great side for dal – use it as a utensil to scoop up the lentils for a delicious sensory experience.