To the casual observer, this is just a bowl of lemons. To me, it is much more than that. I had a friend in New Zealand who I knew for only a few short years before she surrendered to the ravages of cancer. In the brief time I knew her, she was always full of life, laughter and love. She told me when I turned 50 that life would just get busier; I think she was right, but not in the ways I had imagined. She also had an orchard full of lemon trees, and I never left her place without bags full of the best lemons I have ever tasted.
Since coming to live in WA, I have grown to love the charming custom the locals have of putting their surplus lemons out for those of us without trees; and can never resist helping myself to at least one. As I walk, I inhale the scent of the skin, and smile.
My beloved often walks early in the morning while I am still asleep, and more often than not I will appear downstairs somewhat later to find a little yellow offering or two on the bench. Other times he will arrive home from work carrying one for me - still warm from the sun. This little gesture of love is so simple and yet so powerful. So much so, that the other day when he suggested I might perhaps have enough lemons for now, I was horrified and issued strict instructions not to stop!
It's been another year of turmoil, change, adventure, heartache, loss, profound self-exploration, learning, love, and fun; with some unforeseen challenges met and overcome and some still a work in progress. This has been a year where I have largely been turned inwards, facing old demons, processing new heartaches and working to find my place in this new life we have created. And I'm getting there.
In the meantime, I probably need to do something with all these lemons.
