Orange Peels: Summer Week #11 – 8/14/24

Orange Peels

This time of year, field demands on Michael and myself lessen and streamline. We find ourselves shoulder to shoulder with our field crew much more now. I have been delighted by some of the conversations this lovely crew invites me into.

One morning they were discussing what vegetable they thought most represented them, or with which they most identified.

Another conversation included which vegetable was the most sexual – zucchini was the answer they agreed upon, but not without a strong argument regarding eggplant. Zucchini prevailed – so fertile, so productive.

One morning Ren told us about a poem she’d once read. It was about a father and a son. The father never told the son he loved him, but the son noticed that whenever they ate oranges, his father would first peel the orange and then hand it to him. The poem was about the son’s ability to recognize love in his father’s act of peeling the orange for him. Despite the lack of words, he felt his father’s love. Ren asked us all what were some orange peels we have experienced from people with whom we are in relationship.

We chatted about this is the fields. Samson’s buddy surprising him for his birthday. Marit spoke about how her dad always stocks the fridge with her favorite foods. I shared how Michael sometimes does small things in my yard, like pulling ragweed or shoveling a sidewalk. It was lovely to think about these small things that are actually pretty huge.

This conversation has stayed with me since that day in the field. The act of thinking about these small acts of love, the practice of seeing them, noticing them, is so lovely.

What’s an orange peel in your life?