My “Little Strawberry” Granddaughter, Sissy

My “Little Strawberry” Granddaughter, Sissy…

My love for strawberries goes so far back that some of these memories have come from other sources, like my Mom.
My Mom’s the one who has told stories of me sitting in my Grandma’s strawberry patches on her farm in Michigan. My Grandma would cover my little head with large, white cotton bonnets and I’d sit there among the acres of strawberries that were harvested to head “to market” or to be sold in Grandma’s roadside fruit & vegetable stand.
I think maybe the brilliant reds and the lush greens and the tiny yellowish seeds of the strawberry may have been a draw.
Then there’s the taste. It’s SUMMER when I bite into a luscious strawberry, even if outside tells of the dead of winter, like today.
And the magical life-cycle of the strawberry, too, from blossom to fruit…
Strawberry Blossoms are not all identical, but they are similar.  Most are 5-8 petaled and white, but hybrid Strawberry Blossoms may be pink or other colors, too.   The main business of the Strawberry Blossom is to form a cone-like receptacle that becomes the Strawberry.  The Strawberry Blossom that peeks out above the foliage toward the sun becomes the heavy, ripened Strawberry that we pick along the ground ~
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As you can see, I love the Strawberry.
I remember the morning in November 2012 that my daughter Audrey told me she that was expecting a baby ~ her 5th. She had 4 boys, ages 4, 5, 6 & 7 back then. Audrey and I celebrated this wonderful baby news with breakfast and then we walked along the main street of Warren, RI. We happened into a little shop, Muse, and there on a rack of little white onesies, was one onesie with a strawberry motif.
I immediately thought of my Grandma so long ago in Michigan, and I’m pretty sure that I saw a little girl in a strawberry patch, too. I bought that onesie for my new grandbaby, due in July, on that special, special morning.
And strawberries would come to mean even more to me when that little vision of a little girl sitting in a strawberry patch with my Grandma came to be my grandbaby Victoria, who would come to be known as Sissy.
I think my “Little Strawberry” Sissy and me is very much like my Grandma and me ~ from so, so very long ago.
When Sissy turned one year old, I celebrated her most special day with a little strawberry dress…
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When Sissy turned 2 years old, I celebrated her most special day with a little strawberry shirt…
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My “Little Strawberry” reciprocates, too! For my 62nd birthday, Sissy gave me a delightful strawberry teapot to add to my teapot collection…
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For my 63rd birthday, Sissy gave me a wonderful strawberry-themed colander and tray…
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It’s like a little strawberry piece of magic to share this special strawberry bond with Sissy.
SO when I recently came upon a little sparkly Strawberry Shortcake Jacket and Strawberry Shortcake pants, they just had to belong to my “Little Strawberry”…
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Because there’s nothing quite like a Strawberry Smile!
Folklore tells us that the Strawberry symbolizes purity, passion and healing, not only because of its nutritive value, but because of its red color and delicate heart-shape.
My heart will forever belong to my “Little Strawberry” ~ from not only the moment I learned of her coming, but from long, long ago in the strawberry patches on my Grandma’s farm.
 
19th century English Romantic poet William Wordsworth has given us lovely words in which to wrap the strawberry ~
God has given a kindlier power
To the favoured strawberry-flower.
I know this to be true!

About Audrey

Audrey McClelland has been a digital influencer since 2005. She’s a mom of 5 and shares tips on her three favorite things: parenting, fashion and beauty. She’s also a Contemporary Romance Author.

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