November 1, 2010

The secret to seeding a pomegranate

Pomegranate

Ladies and gentlemen, I have another confession to make. There is a portion of this blog which I have been neglecting. It is the "pomegranate" portion. You may remember it from my very first post, back in June.

This past weekend, my frustration finally came to a head. I ate a lot of cookies. I took it out on you. I took it out on the floor. I decided to do a little frustration-sweeping, even though I could barely hold myself up, nevermind a broom. Actually, it was a swiffer. The wet swiffer is my favorite, because it has a little button you can push, and it sprays things.

Anyways, in the wake of my silent, pathetic attempts at a tantrum, my loyal roommate returned from a grocery run. I was lying on the couch, exhausted from my efforts, and she plopped something down in front of me.

"I think you know what to do with this," she smiled, and then returned to unpacking her bags.

I stared at it for a while. It was round and pink. I was too tired to reach for it. It was my favorite fruit. Eating it would require some effort and my special secret. That's what she was talking about. It was a pomegranate.

The pomegranate is my favorite fruit for a number of reasons. This is a fruit which actually has no edible flesh. Just a tiny little bit of bitter-sweet nectar, which is next to impossible to extract from its tiny, ruby-colored seeds, firmly planted inside of a completely unforgiving shell.

Ha! Now that is a badass fruit.

If that weren't enough, the pomegranate has been for ages a symbol of seduction, fertility, and temptation in a number of different mythologies and religious traditions. I love that kind of thing.

But I've been flat on my back—no end in sight—for five weeks with a very serious case of "kissing disease." Whether or not that's how I got it is beside the point. Wouldn't you like to know.

Anyways, I haven't really been in the mood to talk about love. Nevermind seduction. Or fertility. Can you blame me?

I'm usually feeling particularly fruitful if I can make it through the day without crying about the number of times I've had to switch to lying down from my preferred upright sitting position. This does not bode well for my dating prospects, my seduction rating, or my fertility meter.

When my life came to a crashing halt a little over a month ago, a lovely expanse of reflection time opened up before me. I wasn't particularly thrilled about this. I was ambivalent at best.

Past loves and losses were still looming on my horizon. I figured I was going to have to face them if I wanted to get on with it. Hence, the pomegranate.

It wasn't that I'd been avoiding dealing with the past. I'd talked with friends. I'd eaten my fair share of Ben & Jerry's. And then some. I'd watched Bridget Jones. I went on a trip. I wrote poetry. I painted my toenails.

And just when I thought I was all better and could move on with my life, I landed in the infirmary. I stared at my honeymoon red toenails. It wasn't over. There was still more work to be done. Still more thoughts to think. Still more words to be written. Still more peace to be made.

The weeks wore on, and things started to happen. Wheels started to turn. Doors creaked open that had been closed for a very long time. Light came flooding in. From the outside, it probably looks as if I've just been sitting here on the couch the whole time, getting up every now and then to have a fight with a broom.

As I marveled at that pomegranate this weekend, I thanked my lucky stars that it was mine. All mine. I had learned to like it on my own one day. I had done my own research on its symbolism. I had googled "how to seed a pomegranate" by myself, dammit.

The point is, I may or may not have just seeded a new pomegranate today. While listening to Cuban hip hop. See for yourselves. The evidence lies before you. It had been a while. It felt good.

Pomegranate seeds

Ladies and gentlemen, I believe it's time to turn a new leaf. Or a new fruit, rather. I think the couch is as good a place to start as any. Wish me luck.

If you would like to seed a pomegranate of your own, here are the instructions:

1. Cut it in half.
2. Submerge it in a big bowl of water.
3. Allow some of the seeds to float to the top, and gently loosen the rest underwater.

As always, this blog is dedicated to all the little things. Until next time...

No comments:

Post a Comment