Lucky am I, my kids love school. We have a wonderful local school for them to attend with caring attentive teachers, excellent technical resources and lots of friends. One of my kids loves school so much that she bounced into the car as we headed home from the last day of school and immediately asked, "Can we go back to school shopping?"

Even so, about two weeks before school is set to start I can feel it creeping in... anticipation and unrest. My kids are ready for and looking forward to school but nervous. And let's face it, waiting for anything can be tough. We have had everything from nervous upset tummies to sleep disturbances to the daytime crazies. This year to help ease the transition we are all drinking a calming infusion of wonderful herbs and it seems to be keeping things in check. Everyone is a bit calmer and sleeping well at the moment. And Mommy is also keeping her cool.

This infusion (strong tea) nourishes the nervous system, calms digestion, encourages restful sleep and eases stress. It is simple and easy to make with a bit of forethought. Really any combination of these herbs would work great. I use dried herbs but fresh would work fine though you may wish to increase the amount you infuse as dried herbs are more potent than fresh.

Ingredients:

Oat Straw
Oat Seed
Chamomile Blossoms
St. John's Wort Flowers

I make this infusion in 2 parts because oat straw and oat seed need to be infused for a long time to bring out their nourishing properties, vitamins and minerals. While the chamomile becomes bitter when steeped to long and the St John can become a bit strong in my opinion.

Instructions: Place a palmful each of oat straw and oat seed to a quart jar. Fill the jar half way with hot water. Let sit for 4 to 8 hours. I start this in the morning when I am making breakfast. Then strain the resulting liquid into another jar or tea pot and add a palmful each of chamomile and St. John's wort to the quart jar. Fill again half way with hot water and put a lid on top to keep the chamomile's essential oil from escaping. Let sit for 3 to 6 minutes, no more as it will get bitter. Strain into the container holding your oat straw/seed infusion. I add a little bit of honey, maybe a 1/2 teaspoon (more or less to taste), to the infusion and serve it at the dinner table in fancy tea cups.

The result is a mild flowery tasting tea calming to the nerves that my kids love!

About the herbs in your tea:

Oat Straw and Oat Straw~ Often used as a long-term nervous system tonic, oats are extremely nourishing to frazzled nervous. They ease stress, irritability and anxiety.
Chamomile Blossoms ~ Chamomile is soothing for the nerves and supports healthy digestion easing that nervous tummy some kids get. It is high in vitamins and minerals which strengthen the nervous system.
St. John's Wort Flowers ~ St. John's Wort is most commonly known for its usefulness in easing depression. I find it is also useful in easing acute stress when drunk as an infusion and something about combining it with Chamomile enhances its sunshiny properties. My kids have responded time and again to St. John's and Chamomile combined for nightmares and night terrors. Please note that there are some contradictions when combining St. John's Wort with pharmaceuticals, consult your doctor. St. John's Wort is also reported to increase the skin's sensitivity to the sun.

Enjoy and best wishes for a beautiful school year.