Blueberries and Old Sweaters

Blueberries are one of those fruits that can be so right and wrong all at once. The health benefits are outstanding. One website called them "an antioxidant powerhouse." Another vows that 1/2 cup of blueberries will provide the 3-servings of fruit you need daily. Undeniably, these little blue fruits with a unique consistency have their benefits. Nonetheless, I find that if the least bit off or in any other state then fresh or in blueberry muffins, they lose their tart and become a pure jammy sugar fruit... Blackberries have the same problem, but strawberries and raspberries hold their flavor over pastries, sorbet and jams without being too sweet, but blueberries metamorph into something completely else when they are baked, jammed and essentially bastardized.

Anywise, so I am gearing up for another move and I came across an old sweater. The first time I saw this sweater was on my Dad growing up. I remember cold Christmases, ski holidays and amber moments by fireplaces with family friends and steaming cups of hot chocolate. This old sweater has a history though. Where it started is still unknown. It has held a smell, that fluctuates between a cedar closet and winter foods (hot chocolates, roasts, popcorn and things yummy and comforting). Last time, I was at my parents' house, I ran into the picture of my Dad and my Mom, blown up nearly poster size, black and white from Vail, Colorado. It doesn't say when it is but they look young and particularly happy; maybe, it's just worry-less. There are few lines in their faces and though the photo is black and white, the contrast of their pale but smiling faces against the snow gives them a natural hopeful glow. In this particular photo, Mom is wearing a sweater that I wore out as well. Both sweaters fit them well, exhibiting that circular cycle of fashion. Nonetheless, they have changed and nothing they wear today would fit them or their slightly more loved bodies in that way..

The sweater was around throughout my childhood. It's nordic looking with American colors red, white and blue. Somewhere in high school, when I made one of my yearly trips to the attic to remind me of my past and my parents past, I came across it again and decided to make it my own, along with my Dad's old rugby shirts and my Mom's sweater from that photo. Dad's sweater was way too big, but for a 15 year old girl with unnecessary body issues, it was one of my favorite possessions. And at a time, when Abercrombie and Fitch was big amongst high school students, it paid in coolness to have something retroactive in fashion that was real. It travelled to Russia for a cultural exchange and back. It made it all through long, frost-bitten winters filled with cross-country skiing, too many cups of spilled tea in Upstate New York. It is a sweater that represents love and experience and the passing on of different lifestyles from one generation to the next.

So, today, when I was packing and eating blueberries (hence, the random introduction), I came across this sweater. Next destination is Venezuela and this sweater, might not come in handy there. I have not outgrown it, it gives me warm fuzzies when I see it. Furthermore, it radiates love. Nonetheless, I decided it was time to pass it on, to give it a new life, to make somebody else's family warm or a different kind of family. Who knows it could be a blanket for an Indian construction worker here and eventually be taken back to his own country for warmth for another person. It is still in good shape, nearly 4o years later. So, farewell to my oversized red, white, and blue but overly Nordic looking sweater.

May you continue to make happy, spread love and keep warm.