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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17 Responses to “The spiritual principles of fruit salad”
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I’m a writer whose first novel, Snow Day, will be published by FaithWords in 2010.
But don’t let that fool you. I’m just as confused as anyone.
And that is fine with me, because the great thing about wandering around in the fog is that you never know what you might run into.
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Ahh, the famous fruit salad story. The first piece of your writing I ever read…. and I keep coming back for more!
Dang it! Peter P got the first comment. Curses, foiled again!
Headed over there now.
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.
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.
She drank sweet tea, too? Oh yea, the South….
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.)
"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.
I'm running on over there right now…I know it's going to be a good one!
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!
You're Grams rocks!
Ooooo….sneaky cliffhanger! I'm heading over to katdish's right now.
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
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.
Such a wise woman!
I'm going to be reading this one to my kids. Thanks for sharing it!
oh, I love this one
Nah, I had the BESTEST Grandma!