Tuesday, January 20, 2009

When life gives you lemons?

Sometimes life give you lemons.  We all know this.  And we all say the same thing...  Make lemon-aid!

Recently I brought these lemons home from my mom's house.  She said, "Here, take this one too, maybe you can blog about it."  Right away I began using the "normal" lemons.  They became soothing tea for a sore throat, lemon bars and lemon meringue pie.  

But the "odd" one sat on the counter.  I'd show it to anyone who would look at it, I even made a big deal over it.  But I never thought about using it.  Although it was interesting and wonderfully different, I figured it would not be useful.  I gloried in its strange deformity.  Then one day as I looked at it, I could see that it was getting funky, maybe a little furry too.  I would soon have to throw it away.  Yet I was afraid to cut it open and see just what was inside.  It just seemed 'wrong' to cut it open and then throw it away.  I actually stood there looking at this lemon, trying to decide if I should cut into it.  I had to make myself cut it.  

Open to the light of day it was still odd.   Formed in strange sections,  it made no sense to me how it became what it was.  I have taken horticulture classes,  I'm good at puzzles, but I couldn't see why it grew that way.  It was useless, or so I thought.  I tasted it.  It was sour.  Just like a lemon should be.  Although it seemed like something that should just be thrown out, I had to make the existence of that lemon worth the water, sunlight and carbon dioxide it had consumed in it's short life.

I made one more cup of honey and lemon tea.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I heart nonconformist lemons too! I'm gonna post a couple pics to your FB. :->

Kelly W