My grandmother was an amazing cook, very creative and a ton of fun! I can remember many occasions when after dinner, as the sun began to set and the Miami breeze was cooling off a tad, she loved walking around her yard proudly admiring all of her plants and flowers.
She’d watch occasional trespassers like squirrels, rabbits, lizards or grass snakes skirt across the lawn. She loved to sit on her porch or her swing gazing up at the beauty of her statuesque over-reaching trees as birds made their way from branch to branch. And she never failed to notice the orange, pink, yellow and red hues of every unique sunset.
She had a lot of trees on her two acres abutting Coral Gables, Fla. including many avocado and mango trees. I have her kitchen table in our sunroom and enjoy sitting there when I write. I have many memories of that table covered with newspaper as I consumed sweet, cool slices of mango always accompanied by mango juice dripping down my forearms, and thus the newspaper. Or cutting an avocado the size of a football, removing the pit, sprinkling a little salt and pepper on it enjoying every bite. She picked her own mango and avocado by using a hand-held fruit picker or hoisting herself up the tree. I mostly remember witnessing the latter. This time of year, I’m rarely without mango or avocado in the house, both staples for this Fla. gal.
And so tonight, as I came back inside from walking around our yard looking at my plants and flowers, sitting out on our deck drinking in the beauty of God’s creation and watching a stunningly colorful sunset, a profound realization has just hit me. HOLY COW! I have become my grandmother!;-) And I couldn’t be more proud! In fact, I think I’ll head to the kitchen and have a mango! Big hugs, D