Five Things In A Salad

When I was a kid, my Mom's best friend, Kath, lived in the greater Syracuse, NY area. We made several summer pilgrimages to their house, which involved being absorbed into the large clan that lived nearby. There was plenty to see and do; the great-grandparents' house on Casenovia Lake, the grandparents' house on the golf course, the neighborhood where Kath lived . I was older than the other kids, but not a grown-up, which made these visits fun, but somewhat frustrating.

I think Kath and my Mom must have sensed this, because as I approached what we now call the 'tween years, they included me in things that the littler boys weren't a part of.

I can't tell you exactly how old I was, or what year it was, only it was before she got divorced and we stopped seeing much of them (Something I wouldn't really understand until I found myself in and out of friendships that fall apart because things in your life change.), but one summer Kath imparted to me one of the most lasting and practical pieces of wisdom in my life.

"It isn't a salad unless it has five things in it."

To this day, when I make a salad, and god help me I eat one almost every day for lunch, I think of Kath and count my "things." Today's salad, for example: greens, carrots, celery, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, sunflower seeds and balsamic vinaigrette. Eight things! Definitely a salad!

I hope when my son and the friends he'll have are grown, some friend of his will have learned some useful thing from me, some thing I don't necessarily even remember saying. That seems like a good way to be remembered.