#175-Sour simplicity

Dad is over ninety now, but still active and alert. A few years back, he planted a small orange tree in his backyard. At least that’s what he said at the time. Whenever I visit, we walk around the garden, checking out his latest projects. His orange tree has now grown, bearing fruit, and not exactly the orange tree I expected. It’s a kumquat tree. This year the branches are almost breaking with the many dangling kumquats. Every day, dad picks a few and puts them on the table next to my PC. I like the sour taste and eat one or two each day. Whenever I eat one, my face gets contorted and funny looking. They’re really sour! Susanne is usually close by and cracks up as I chew, grimace and swallow. Her laughter makes me laugh, which makes the whole scene even funnier.

Dad + Kumquats + me + sourness + Susanne + laughter = a lot of fun!

Next week I’ll be back home. For sure I’ll have a bag full of kumquats with me, courtesy of mum and dad. I’ll savor them slowly, they’ll be sour, and maybe I’ll laugh. For sure, I’ll miss them, and these simple moments.