I opened the fridge and started searching around. I had purchased it last week at the grocery store. It had to be here somewhere. Why can’t I find the cucumber?
My 7 year old is standing in the kitchen looking at me expectantly. I had to tell him I couldn’t find it. Someone must have eaten it. “I’m so sorry son. We don’t have any cucumbers.” I could see the disappointment in his eyes but he said, “That’s okay mom, I understand” as he walks out of the kitchen.
You see, when you live in a large family, on a homestead, things run a little differently. You eat whatever is put in front of you. You share EVERYTHING. Everyone works together as a single unit. There is always work to do and everyone pitches in to get it done. Rarely are you a single unit, your own entity. You operate as part of the unit.
As a parent it’s my job to see them as individuals. I try to fit in their individual preferences so they know that I see them, that they matter and they are heard. In an environment like ours you really learn that it’s the little things that matter. Such small things can make them so happy, they are so thankful for the little things in life. They are so grateful for things that others would see as insignificant.
So often when I’m in the produce department I grab a cucumber for my 7 year old. It’s his favorite food. He loves snacking on them and it’s a real treat because he doesn’t get them on a daily/regular basis. He loves cucumbers.
Here we are with a missing cucumber and a disappointed little boy with a good attitude. We live in the country, running to the grocery store is a planned event. We don’t just run to the store if we are out of something.
A friend calls, she’s coming over for a tamale making day and asks if I need anything from the grocery store. The only thing I asked for? A cucumber for my 7 year old. She laughs, having a hard time believing that that’s what I need to put a smile on my sons face. She teases that that would make a great blog post and then proceeds to buy my son 3 large cucumbers plus a bag of small, sweet specialty cucumbers that she wanted him to experience. This uniquely sweet cucumber has a mild flavor and soft skin and she figured he’s never had one. She was right.
When she arrived and showed him this simple treat I was reminded why my tribe is my tribe. I’m very careful with who is allowed access to my home, my family, my life. Im very protective about the people who are allowed to influence my children. My friends care, and wants to see my family succeed. Is it weird that cucumbers made our whole day? Well sure. But if that’s what it takes to make my son smile than my tribe will bend over backwards to get us that fantastic cucumber.
So I’m writing about this because my friend told me I should share this odd story, and because at the end of the day why can’t the little things in life please us this much? It’s truly the little indulgences that makes life so rich.
It took me over 40 years to find my tribe. The people that know I’m weird, they understand that we operate differently, they truly want to see us succeed and will lift us up in any way they can. There is a mutual respect and appreciation for each others differences and a drive to help each other thrive. No one else in my tribe lives the life we’ve chosen. We don’t have to be the same. We just need to want good things for each other. That’s what life is about.
If you want to improve life for others, and those people want to improve life for you, then in the end everyone wins. Be a giver, care about people, pour into others. Then find people who will equally pour into you and your family. Be the person that buys a cucumber. Also be the person brave enough to ask for a cucumber. Cucumbers change lives.
