Yesterday morning as I made peach tea in my favorite pitcher…Bertha…brought
back a memory…and a lesson…of course…
The pitcher is thick, bluish tint glass…kind of imperfect looking with tiny bubbles…and a cobalt blue rim…I always think of Mexico when I see it…I remember buying it…over twenty years ago…in fact…they were on sale…I bought two…one to use…and one to sit above my cabinets for decoration…
Not so long after its purchase…my youngest daughter was making tea…possibly for the first time…and I failed to tell her…or she forgot…that you don’t pour hot liquid directly into glass…the pitcher cracked…she was upset…I reassured her that we’d all learned that lesson at some point…not to worry…it was one she wouldn’t forget…and she didn’t…I simply switched places with the two pitchers…the cracked one on display…the other still in use to this day…
Bertha’s…point was that some lessons only require once to learn…another memory came floating by…my oldest daughter…a toddler…a wood burning stove…caution…hot…don’t touch…that one tiny pointer finger with a not so tiny blister…tears…mine as much as hers…but…she learned the meaning of…hot…and she never forgot…
Other lessons…however…are not so permanent…they are slippery…kind of like chasing a greased pig…just when you think you’ve got it…it squirms out of your grasp…but…unlike the elusive pig…they return another day…in another way…
For me…those lessons tend deal with…letting go…forgiveness…self-doubt…and…they surface from time to time…and…each time they do…I do what some call peeling the onion…but I call peeling the artichoke…I like the visual better…tough spiny leaves on the outside…followed by a hairy choke…then…tender tasty heart in the center…working through the layers…getting deeper every time…
I used to think that like cracked pitchers and blistered fingers…this should be a one-time lesson…but…I see now…with Bertha’s help…that it isn’t…it isn’t an event…it’s a process…ongoing…getting deeper…getting better…over time…
Jane
i hated chasing greased pig….i found a way to catch the buggers full on tackle and drape your self over and hold a leg… lol
Cathy…that approach just might work for those pesky little issues that keep coming up in life! Thanks for your comment!
Wish Bertha would move in with me!!! LOL!!!
Arlene…just get quiet and listen…she’s whispering to you…thanks for your support!
Your description of some memories as slippery is a good one… Your words seem so vibrant and I find myself drawn to your posts. In a good way!
Thank you Christy…I so appreciate your comments as you are one of the writers that I truly admire. Thank you again!