It's Thursday morning and I've been working away most of the minutes around the clock with exception of setting aside a little bit of time for sleep and... Watermelon hunting!
I don't know why I'm like this, but, it must simply be part of my genes as a mid-westerner. Every time the sun shines, I have a craving for freshly shucked corn-on-the-cob, you know, when you have to take all those little hairs off the cob and it smells like it has just come off of the stalk! The other thing I love about this time of year are berries. I remember going out with my mum to pick berries from road-side bushes growing up and going home to make jam. (Although, most of the time, I had eaten my bucket of berries by the time we got home.) However, the biggest treat of all about summer was WATERMELONS!
Watermelons seem hard to come by in Scotland. I get the impression that buying watermelons in Scotland probably means that they have been imported from Spain or some remote farm in Africa. So, buying them makes me feel a bit eco-guilty. However, yesterday, I found one at Sainsburys and simply couldn't resist. Shame on me.
This watermelon is nothing like the kind of watermelon you would normally find in the midwest. In fact, it's about 1/4 the size of the watermelon's I remember. It's small (just a little smaller than a football) and I'm almost afraid to cut into it because the anticipation is so great. I wonder if it will be sweet. I'm hoping it will be 'just right'.
I know it sounds silly writing a blog about a watermelon. But, this particular food reminds me of some of the best moments of childhood and the cutting open of the first watermelon of summer was always a very sacred and cherished celebration. Reminding me that the best things in life aren't necessarily 'free', but, they come roughly the price of a watermelon for me!
I think that in a world where there is so much cynicism, it is imperative that we begin to be grateful for these moments and memories. You know, everyone I know seems to have a song that reminds them of something they were doing at some special moment in their life. For me, there was a song for every summer. The songs that we heard on the radio and sang out on the swing-set in the backyard eating watermelon, laughing, and squriting each other with the garden hose. My mum would be roaming around the garden with a rake and we all took turns pushing the lawn mower.
Clearly, growing up, listening to the Jackson Five's "ABC", and then later Crystal Gayle's "Don't it make my Brown Eyes Blue", Kool & The Gang's "Celebration" and "Jungle Boogie", Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly" onto Lionel Richie's "Truly" and Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean". The 70s and 80s of Watermelons in the sun either at the public swimming baths or on the 'front porch on the swing 'just a swingin'. How much of my memories have to do with watermelons and music. (Not that I would do 'wa-ter-me-on' on a lip sync in case any of you are wondering.)
So, this morning I'm grateful. Not just for my tiny watermelon from Sainsbury's, but, grateful for the memories and today, I will spend an hour with my watermelon out in my back yard with a notebook writing them all down, in the sun. I hope watermelon's bring me and my family many more memories for years to come! :)
indy x
Tags: Watermelons MJ Lionel Roberta Flack Memories Indiana Gregg
