Several weeks ago, I was in my now, weed infested garden, checking out the daily progress of my tomatoes.
They were getting larger, and larger, but as of yet, still had not even the slightest tinge of pink in them. Scarlette of course was with me, remarking that the beans were coming in well, and that the pumpkins were starting to turn orange. Well, before I could stop her, she picked one of my dear GREEN TOMATOES.
"No", I cried out to her, "not yet, it is still green, we have to wait until they are red, it will never get red now." She just stared at me...."Scarlette", I said, "please don't pick anymore of those. I have been waiting for them to get nice and red so we can eat them, I am a little disappointed that you picked that."
And that sweet, little four year old, looked up at me, with the green fruit in hand and very calmly said, "Mom, don't worry, it's only a tomato."
What insight. Of course, it is only a tomato. Thank goodness that I have a four year old to let me know what is really important in life. This time of year, the red juicy fruits are a dime a dozen. Selling at every roadside stand, and being given away by neighbors whose bounties overflow. And here I was, getting all flustered about my daughter picking one. How silly I felt.
The term "it's only a tomato" has not become pretty common around our home. Used to remind someone when they are getting upset about something that may not really be all that worth getting upset about.
I did put the little guy on the window in hopes that it would redden. Three weeks later, and this is what it looks like...
Of course by now, every day, there are more tomatoes ready to be picked, and we can't really eat them fast enough.....
I will keep the green one on the sill, just to remind me of what is really important.
