Erma Bombeck famously wrote: "If life is a bowl of cherries, what am I doing in the pits? " As a young wife and mother, her wit brightened many a child-driven day for me. A good laugh always corrected my perspective and strengthened me for the seemingly endless tasks of a domestic day. I often wished that I could invite her to my table, somehow knowing that behind the wit was the empathy of a woman who KNEW. Growing up in South Africa, cherries were a treat, an exotic palate adventure that was carefully rationed. In those days, a pastor's stipend did not go very far and 4 children could eat a week's fruit ration at one sitting! So we learned to suck every little bit of flavor off those pits, to make the treat last as long as possible. Now they are abundant and I can't believe my luck - there is a whole bag of them next to me! And yet I still find myself teasing the stone around my mouth till every little morsel is gone. In a world sated by excess, at least here in the good old USA where I so often see someone discard a half-eaten apple, it might be good to remember to savor every little bite, how to suck the pits clean :-)

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