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On my birthday, i had a lovely flat of peaches (thank you, Naomi!!), gorgeously ripe and destined to be puréed and served in bellinis at my birthday party.
I was peeling and slicing, my hands drenched and dripping in the sweet peach nectar, watching my fingers do their job quickly and safely. And i was suddenly overwhelmed with a sense memory of my mom and grandma peeling and slicing ripe peaches (from Brentwood, also) for jams, jellies, pies. Crates of them at a time, rather than flats, but i saw so clearly that i have their hands. And their sensibilities about fruit, and food. And it was lovely and wonderful.
What a great 30th birthday gift...
Posted by meriko at September 16, 2003 02:48 PMIt's not often that we get the chance to step back and watch as we do something. This is an experience to enjoy, almost as much as the pre-conscious just-doing-it-without-noticing bit.
I had a great moment like that once when I was a teen, visiting my mom's sister's family in Montana. My aunt Carol, cousin Cub and I were all standing barefoot in the kitchen in a row, making dinner together.
My aunt looked down and made some comment about how cute my feet looked, which of course I violently protested. (At 13, naturally my feet were a horrible source of embarassment for me.) Then I looked harder down the row of feet and realized Carol, Cub, and I all had the same feet. Cub giggled about how crazy my aunt's feet drove my Uncle Wally - and Aunt Carol laughingly agreed that he found them irresistable. "And you have them too."
I loved my Uncle Wally. I adored Aunt Carol and Cub. I have always loved cooking in the kitchen, barefoot, with my family. And ever since that evening in the kitchen in Kalispell, I embraced my feet - the feet that posses the power to drive men crazy!
Posted by: mrs l. on September 18, 2003 05:00 PMHow lovely to have that moment of realization and to gain that kind of perspective. Happy 30th birthday, Meriko. :)
Posted by: seaskyclay on September 22, 2003 05:47 AM