Lavender was the color of the mini skirt I wore that long ago day when Mr. Cosca’s 6th grade class took a field trip to the local Jr. High. All the cool kids went to school there. Oh, while it was good to be at the top of the heap at Wilson Elementary, it had grown tiresome being surrounded by all the lower grade kiddies. The playground had become so small and seemed worn out and tired. We weren’t playing on the jungle gym anymore anyways and were more than ready to hang out with the more mature. With the 12, 13, and 14-year-olds who, like us emerging sixth graders, were listening to music their parents didn’t like and beginning to think higher thoughts.
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Or so we thought.
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It’s precious now to replay the home movies of the mind, remembering the colors we wore, the gossip we spread, the bands we crushed on, the exams we may or may not have aced. The summers at the beach and the lavender swimsuit I used to wear.
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I enjoyed a lavender cupcake while vacationing in the central coast earlier this summer. It was gluten free unlike my Wonderbread and Spam filled childhood which wasn’t. This vegan version of buttercream frosting tasted decadent yet had a faint hint of the medicinal. Maybe the pastry chef’s assistant had too liberal a hand with that batch.
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Lavender continues to captivates me in all its various forms, fashions, and flavors. Funny how a gluten free taste of today can stir up some delicious memories from days gone by. And stir up an encouragement to us all to lay down good tracks in the here and now. To spend as much quality time as possible with the ones we love doing the simplest of things. To invest our amazingly bright spirits into needy others, worthy others, helpless and helpful others alike. Not as a challenge or as a burden upon ourselves but as in opening a door to a spaciousness of living that one day will be recalled with a lavender tinted smile. Not in medicinal proportions but with just enough sweetness to recall all the joy.
Image from wallflowerkitchen.com
The Daily Cuppa Jo 