When Life Gives You Lemons

March 22, 2022
Tuesday
7:57 p.m.

"When life gives you lemons, you don't make lemonade. You use the seeds to plant a whole orchard, an entire franchise!"
- Anthon St. Maarten.

My Mom (a fantastic baker) would ask me as a kid what kind of pie I would like for my birthday. "Lemon Meringue!" without hesitation, was always my answer.

As an adult, lemons are a part of my everyday life: they go into my glass or cup of tea, into my glass of water, as an ingredient in my cooking, heck, even into my dish detergent.

Lemons have medicinal properties. They are fresh. They have an undeniable clean scent.

I zest them, slice them, and squeeze the heck out of them with a hand held juicer.

When faced with lemons, literally, or metaphorically from life, squeezing those lemons involves pressure.

Lemons, as a painting or as a drawing subject, however, are a challenge.

Do I use a cool yellow or a warm yellow?
Why is the shape of a lemon organic and geometric at the same time?
Do I see green and orange and yellow?
Do I see blue?
Is the texture of the rind rough or smooth?
Did that lemon just move?
Why am I torturing myself?

Lemons, in art, are considered a symbol of longevity, purification, love, and friendship, …and other times they are symbolic of bitterness and disappointment.

So, lemons, while colorful and nutritious, and medicinal, they also remind us that life is not always sweet.

"When life gives you lemons, go to a taco stand."
- Mariana Zapata.

Your turn. How would you finish this sentence?

“Life gave me lemons and…”

Feel free to share in the comments.

PEACE-Lenore

Here Comes The Sun