Billy Coffey
Billy Coffey

The spiritual principles of fruit salad

July 26, 2009  


Most everyone would say their grandmother was the best who ever walked the earth. They would even have plenty of evidence to corroborate their assertion. And that’s fine, really. But they would be wrong, because there has never been a grandmother like mine and never will.

Though she passed on a long-ago October afternoon, it’s the summertime when I miss her most. Those were the lazy days when she would keep me at her home while my parents were at worked, dispensing her Mennonite wisdom in one breath and her Amish discipline in the next.

Of all the people I’ve ever known, she taught me the most about life. Not just to look, but to see. Not just to listen, but to hear. And not just to dream, but to dream big.

She also taught me this: there is a lesson to be learned in everything. From the birds who nested in the willow tree outside her door to the mint she picked to brew my sweet tea to the garden that grew in the backyard.

But the lesson I remember most is the fruit salad.

I got what I deserved that day, no doubt about it. But hey, we all say things sometimes without thinking them through first.

So, what’d I say? And what lesson was in the fruit salad? Hop on over to katdish’s blog, and I’ll tell you. Trust me, you’ll never look at a bowl of Jell-O and fruit the same again…

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Comments

17 Responses to “The spiritual principles of fruit salad”

  1. Peter P on July 26th, 2009 10:35 pm

    Ahh, the famous fruit salad story. The first piece of your writing I ever read…. and I keep coming back for more!

  2. katdish on July 26th, 2009 10:51 pm

    Dang it! Peter P got the first comment. Curses, foiled again!

  3. Denise on July 27th, 2009 12:21 am

    Headed over there now.

  4. T. Anne on July 27th, 2009 12:51 am

    Great story! You had a special grandma, she had a unique way of expressing herself much like her grandson! Thank you for sharing the wisdom.

  5. Anne L.B. on July 27th, 2009 3:53 am

    You summed up the lesson better than I remembered. Was it this good the first time?

    Billy Coffey reruns have a way of improving with age. More so than prune salad I suspect.

  6. Candace Jean July 16 on July 27th, 2009 5:03 am

    She drank sweet tea, too? Oh yea, the South….

  7. Annie K on July 27th, 2009 5:27 am

    If I didn't know better, I'd say that's Jon's grandma in the picture. Doily and all!

    WV: Nopie
    Nopie for you little Billy after droppinb that bomb like you did. (And that's a bummer because I know for a fact the Amish can make a mean pie.)

  8. Chatty Kelly on July 27th, 2009 5:36 am

    "her Mennonite wisdom in one breath and her Amish discipline in the next." I love that.

    Although my Grammy was pretty darn special. She had a drawer where she kept every flavor of Kool-Aid packet. I got to pick the flavor, pour in the sugar and stir it. And drink out of a dixie cup. Big times at Grammy's house.

  9. April on July 27th, 2009 7:03 am

    I'm running on over there right now…I know it's going to be a good one!

  10. ~*Michelle*~ on July 27th, 2009 7:19 am

    What a fantastic post…..and when you shared your grandma's wisdom,,,it just makes me smile from ear to ear thinking about what a beautiful blessing she was to you (and your family) growing up.

    It almost made me smile as much as that adorable photo of you as a child. Groovy shirt, cowboy! ;)

  11. lynnrush on July 27th, 2009 9:43 am

    You're Grams rocks!

  12. Beth E. on July 27th, 2009 10:45 am

    Ooooo….sneaky cliffhanger! I'm heading over to katdish's right now.

  13. Heart2Heart on July 27th, 2009 10:45 am

    Billy,

    What an incredible life lesson was held in that bowl of fruit salad! I will definitely have to use that story "if" I ever hear that from my kids! I am hoping I don't but you can't control everything.

    Love and Hugs ~ Kat

  14. RickNiekLikeBikes on July 27th, 2009 12:19 pm

    I learned how to tend a strawberry garden with my grandma…fruit salad from the ground up. "Always starts with dirt, and turns into something yummy," she said.

    I learned much later that she was teaching me then too. Better late than never.

  15. Angela on July 27th, 2009 3:39 pm

    Such a wise woman!

    I'm going to be reading this one to my kids. Thanks for sharing it!

  16. KM Wilsher on July 28th, 2009 8:25 am

    oh, I love this one :)

  17. Frisbies Forever on July 28th, 2009 10:15 pm

    Nah, I had the BESTEST Grandma!

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