Gratitude is the sign of noble souls ~ Aesop


Wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving ~ Kahlil Gabran


Joy delights in joy ~ William Shakespeare


Wednesday, March 31, 2010

The cherry on bottom

I love cherries. Always have. One of my very first memories is of the cherry tree outside my window when I was just a toddler. Those perfect shiny red spheres that grow in pairs, held together like a pair of shoes but with stems instead of laces. I'm not picky -- bing, maraschino, dried, black -- I will devour them all. My favorite special occasion drink growing up was a Shirley Temple with FOUR cherries...I was always very specific with the waiters, it had to be four. And then there was the year I gave up cherries for Lent, and it felt like the longest forty days of my young life. So when Easter morning came around that year and I found an entire jar of maraschino cherries tucked inside my Easter basket, you can imagine what I did -- I ate the ENTIRE jar. Including the juice. In hind sight, I would definitely NOT recommend doing that.
I was thinking about the expression "Life is a bowl of cherries" this morning as I was eating my bland sugarless oatmeal. I allowed myself a few dried cherries sprinkled in and each time I found one, it was like discovering a tasty treasure. And I thought that maybe a more accurate quote might be "Life is a bowl of oatmeal...with cherries!" Because alot of this life is a mushy mess, but if you keep looking for the cherries (joy) sprinkled around, it can make getting through it a much more pleasant experience. So people can have their whipped cream with the cherry on top -- I find much greater satisfaction in the cherry I discover at the bottom of a bowl of oatmeal:)

4 comments:

  1. You know, it's funny, I'm that way with granola and raisins. So this morning I tried adding double the raisins, and it grossed me out. Guess you have to have a fair share of granola (oatmeal) in life to appreciate the raisins (cherries) sprinkled in.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Not for me...I hate oatmeal! But I do love cherries! Especially the one perched on the top of a Breyer's ice cream sundae (any flavor will do) or swimming with the whipped cream in a Steak 'n Shake chocolate milk shake; or the occasional (too many of them will make you drunk with more than just joy ;-}) "Maker's Mark manhattan on the rocks with extra cherries, please." But until recently, I had no idea how healthy they (the cherries) are for you. Did you know that the concentrated cherry juice (I buy mine from a Northern MICHIGAN orchard) are an "Antioxidant Powerhouse, loaded with naturally occurring antioxidants, including anthocyanins and melatonin" ( or so says the label on my bottle)? I take two tablespoons in one of my daily cups of green tea (the other one gets a tablespoon of local honey - keeps our Ohio Valley allergies at bay).
    Anyway, thanks for the great post...I can sure identify with it - except for the oatmeal, of course. ;-b

    ReplyDelete
  3. A beautiful and true metaphor. Back in college I once pontificated on how cool it would be to have a whole bowl of Lucky Charms marshmallows. Who wants those crusty little oat pieces anyway?! So, I painstakingly sorted out an entire bowl of stars, clovers, rainbows, and horse shoes. 5 bites into my masterpiece I was grossed out. The marshmallows aren't special without the cereal. The joys aren't a reward without the work :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Is the Sun ever more enchanting than when reflected by the Moon?

    ReplyDelete

Blog Archive