Monster veggie, magnificent view

This morning a former coworker (now friend) appeared in the entry way of my cubicle, a giddy smile on her face.

After exchanging our “Good morning”s, the woman asked me if I remembered that she started a garden this past spring.  I nodded; indeed, I was impressed that she began her foray into vegetables with nothing more than a few packets of seeds, some dirt, a few small cups, and a tiny patch of kitchen floor where she could put the whole works to ensure it would receive sunshine.  She then asked me if I remembered telling her that I would take any extra vegetables she might want to get rid of, should she have a bumper crop of any item and get tired of eating it.  I nodded again; I don’t have a vegetable garden, and am jealous of people who get to enjoy fresh veggies right from their own yards.  My friend then smiled even wider, and with a tiny bit of fanfare, presented me…..

A huge green club?  Sensing a microsecond of confusion from me, my friend quickly jumped in with, “It’s a zucchini!”

Holy crimony… indeed, it is a zucchini.  A HUGE zucchini.  Check it out:

(This is the only ruler I have that isn’t clear plastic, and therefore is the only ruler that will show for a photograph.)

But the tiny ruler doesn’t do this beast of a vegetable justice; so here’s an old English unit of measure: a body part. (In this case, my arm.)

I was (and still am) delighted that my friend thought of me, and is so generously willing to share her bounty with me.  But here’s the part of the exchange that profoundly touched my heart.  As my friend got ready to leave, she commented, “And I didn’t use any special fertilizer or magic grow spray or anything in the garden.  This zucchini is just the result of sunshine, rain, and love.”  That last sentence went deep into my core.  A teeny, tiny seed sprouted and bloomed and grew into a vegetable to be reckoned with, all through the impact of just three factors: sunshine, rain, and love.

Without sunshine, the seed never would have sprouted.  But without rain, the sprout never would have bloomed.  And without love, the bloom never would have grown into its’ full, mature state.

I believe we humans are a lot like this zucchini.  We all need sunshine (joy) to get started, rain (tough times) to become resilient, and love (love!) to survive both the ups and downs and develop into wise, adult selves.

My friend gave me a lot more than “just” a killer zucchini today; and I’m grateful for all of her gifts, both physical and philosophical.

Oh, and you better believe I had zucchini for dinner tonight; sautéed with some onions… delish.  🙂

Stef

P.S.  As I finished typing this post, the doorbell rang, and my sweetie’s coworker/friend appeared at our door, with four cucumbers from his garden in hand.  Talk about a bounty!

Now, if anyone has any tomatoes…  😉  [I’m just sayin’…]