Rosy Heaven

Just the smell brings a smile and sends a tingle down in my soul that touches my very earliest memories. The distinct, sweet, earthy smell makes me feel warm as a blanket hanging in the summer sun.

It is almost March now, and the first signs of spring are beginning to sprout. The robins have returned. The grass is waking up. And the sun is sticking around longer. But the surest sign that spring is near is the little box of strawberries waiting patiently on my table.

I love the way they look. So bold and lush. Red is a very bold color. In China, red is a lucky color. Today I will eat my first strawberry of the year, and I feel lucky.

As I sink my teeth in, the cold dark winter is forgotten. I am taken to a hot, summer day spent running barefoot in the grass. To picnics by the lake and lazy afternoons on the porch. I take small, meaningful bites and let the flavor and memories linger.

The juice stains my hands and lips. I look at my stained hands and remember picking strawberries with people I love. My siblings, parents, children and friends. Time moves much slower in a strawberry patch. It is so exciting to peek under a leaf and see a bunch of big, beautiful, bold strawberries staring back. It's like the ultimate hide and seek, and I'm the ultimate winner.

My mom's kitchen smelled divine when she made jam from the strawberries we picked. Ahhh. I can smell it even now. Can you?

In the next few months, I will add many different ingredients to beautiful strawberries. Spinach, Ice cream, Nutela, Cereal, Pasta, Pie crust, Rhubarb, Danish Delight, Chocolate, Bananas, Yogurt, and Granola, to name a few.

But for now, I will let this little box of rosy heaven fill me up with sweet memories all by itself.


This post was entered in Icecream's Dirty Chocolate contest.