L is for Lemons

Gladys Kuoksa, my college Sociology professor, came into class with a basket of lemons.  Each student in our small class of 15 was to choose one and carry it with us wherever we traveled over the next week.

It seemed like an easy enough task. I gave my lemon a name and carried it with me for the week. My lemon and I went to meals, classes, and all around campus together.  The next week we returned to class and were told we could get rid of our lemons after class. 

Suddenly, I was presented with the task of getting rid of something that I had built some sort of relationship with.  Obviously, there was no human relationship but I had come to expect to find the dimpled skin of the lemon when I reached into my pocket or my backpack.  Sure, it didn't look quite as good as it did the week before but we had spent a week together, and tossing it in the trash didn't seem right.

I took a stroll down by the river and tossed it into a bush hoping it would eventually break down and return to the earth.

A second later it rolled back out from under the bush. I scooped it right up and took it back to my room where it stayed.  It stayed long enough to dry out completely leaving me with a small, dry lemon that rattled seeds when handled.

Life Lesson- Relationships come in all forms- they just take time.