Day 192

It is Wordsday of Hot Week, and I feel like quoting my father, the farmer, who knew all about working hard in the fields no matter how high the temperatures climbed. Before the quote, though, I should give you a bit of backstory.

My mother was very aware of how hard Dad worked. She worried about him, out in the heat all day, so she would slather his face with the heavy-duty thick white sunscreen, hand him his wide-brimmed hat to cover his bald head, tie a bandanna around his neck, and make him wear a long-sleeved shirt. That sounds counter-intuitive, but she was actually protecting him from the sun, which he needed more than anyone else knew. (My dad died of invasive melanoma, but he outlived Mom by nine years, so her precautions served their purpose.)

At mid-day, she would make sandwiches, slice watermelon or peaches, and fill four quart-size Mason jars with ice-cold lemonade, before packing everything in a basket or box. Then she would hop in the car and drive out into the field, making sure to stay on the rutted path so the car wouldn't ignite any weeds. Dad would be somewhere amidst the crop on a tractor, so Mom would wave her arms until he noticed her. When he made his way to the car, she would make him sit and eat and drink, and when he was finished, she sent two of the quarts of lemonade back to the tractor with him to keep him cool through the afternoon.

When Mom's health began to fail, she would make the lunch and hand the basket to me for delivery. I followed her example, being careful to stay on the path, and waving my hands until Dad saw me. When he would come up to the car and see the food, he would say "A finer sight there never was than my sweetheart delivering lemonade on a day like this."

I was a teenager at the time. I could have been snarky and said "What am I? Chopped liver?" But we both knew that she would've been there, making the delivery herself, if she were able. Dad knew what those Mason jars of lemonade stood for. It wasn't just lemons and sugar in water so icy the condensation made the jar slippery. Those jars were filled with unconditional love and concern and caring. Refreshing for both the body AND the soul.

#MomsCompanyTowels

#HotWeek

#AFinerSightThereNeverWas

#MasonJarsOfLemonade