Strawberries

  I have a visitor who was kind enough to bring me some fruits and veggies.  I realize that is not a big deal for most people but it is for me because of the prices out here.  All fruits and veggies have to be air shipped here and that can be quite a cost.

The other year, I paid almost $14.00 for a fresh cantaloupe.  Imaging that $14.00 for something most people pay maybe $4.00 at the most.  Bananas tend to run between 75 cents and 1.00 per banana.  That means a bunch can run between $5 and $13, depending on how many are on the bunch.

So when he handed me this box of big, ripe, beautifully scented strawberries, I fell in love.  Not with him but with the strawberries.  I am not a great host under these circumstances because I ran to the bathroom, locked the door, and just enjoyed the smell of fresh strawberries.  The aroma replaced the stale winter smell of the closed up house.

I sat down on the tub edge and took out the biggest one.  I'm sorry but I didn't lick it, didn't inhale the scent, didn't do anything you might do if you were trying to take time to fully worship and appreciate the offering.  No I didn't do any of that.  I shoved the thing in my mouth and took a bite of it, letting the juice run down my chin. 

I felt like I was eating Nirvana.  It tasted so rich, so delicious.  I loved the fresh, spring flavor that burst forth and invaded my mouth.  I signed and felt so sinful from the one bite.  After the flavor drifted away, I took a second bit to finish off the strawberry.  Again, I enjoyed the nuances of the fresh strawberry flavor. 

I managed to curb my desire to inhale all the strawberries in one sitting and put them away. The next day, I took several strawberries in my lunch to share with my coworkers.  After a long hard winter and a landscape of brown mud and white snow, the strawberries made everyone feel as if they were special.

You don't know how much you miss certain things until you can't get them or the cost becomes so prohibitive you can't afford them.  I have the last couple packed in my lunch today so I'll really enjoy them and be thankful for having received them as a gift.

Just to let you know, when I was a teenager, my parents could not afford much so I'd always spend part of my babysitting money on fruit.  I would buy pounds of fruit and enjoy each and every piece.  So I've had a life long love of fruit.