Tomatoes

My brother gently pointed out a few days ago that my blog has been suffering. What could possibly be causing this dry spell of no posts for over a month???

I wish I had a more exciting explanation, but basically my summer has been ridiculously BUSY! But instead of trying to write a post that attempts to fill-in all the “busy news”, I’d like to pause for a simple moment to appreciate one of my favorite un-busy aspects of my summer — my tomato plants.

To the average person, I’m sure they don’t look like much. A scraggly, unwieldy excuse for patio plants, they’re fighting to survive in the harsh conditions of limited soil, my undependable watering schedule and completely unpredictable weather patterns. And yet, these little uglies are my happy place! Nothing puts me into “zen” mode faster than getting barefoot after a long day of life [or whatever it is that makes my life
so busy], walking up to one of my plants, plucking a juicy little tomato, and savoring it right then and there. They might be ugly, but they taste just as rich and delicious as the tomatoes that used to grow like crazy in my Grandpa’s orchard! And the taste alone takes me back to many warm, summer days spent at the orchard– back when I was just a kid, with no concept of schedule and “busy life”– back when my alarm clock was the sound of roosters cockle-doodle-doing outside the guest bedroom, and my agenda for the day was picking cherries, riding a tractor, watching I Love Lucy and Happy Days with Grandma, going “exploring” with my brothers and cousins and eating all the delectable treats that Grandma was quick to spoil me with. And [shockingly] one of my favorite treats was cucumber tomato salad!

What a blessing it is to reminisce such warm memories with just one bite of a fresh tomato! Just as a fresh tomato tastes as delicious now as it did then, my life– though not as simple as it once was– is just as rich and blessed now as it was then. And this morning, amidst the busyness, I’m thankful.

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