There’s that old expression, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”
The other day, it occurred to the contrarian in me, “What if you don’t like lemonae?”
To which the optimist in me, replied, “Then make something else.”
And that is the point of today’s post. If life gives you lemons, you can make a wonderful lemon-thyme charred chicken breast, lemon bars, lemon meringue pie, lemon-marinated shrimp, or even sangria!
Make whatever floats your boats with that bag of lemons you’ve just been handed. You don’t have to buy into the sugar-coated cure-all of lemonade. You can make something you like, something uniquely you out of those lemons.
Sometimes the world is a harsh place that throws us curve balls that it’s hard to recover from. Having someone tell you to turn that into a sugary drink of pure pleasure isn’t always the answer. Sometimes you just have to eat the lemons (as an aside, my son actually likes to eat lemons, plain; and no he does not suffer from scurvy). Other times, you’ll find that things aren’t as dark as they seem (that lemon chicken), Â so you can add a little something of your own to the mix and the lemons in life aren’t so sour. Sometimes, you’ll find you can turn those lemons into a fabulous treat (lemon meringue pie, anyone?).
But, whatever the case, know that those lemons don’t have to be lemonade. What often turns our lemons into something more palatable is simply the knowledge that we’re not stuck in some pre-formed box (lemonade), that we have options, if we can just think of them. It’s often not easy to think of options in hard situations, but if you know that possibilities exist, then thinking of those options is more likely to happen.
So, remember, next time life gives you lemons, take a deep breath, remember there are possibilities beyond lemonade, and make what you want to out of that bag of sour citrus.
I’m off, as I’m craving some lemon pound cake!
So true! How about a Mint Julep (with fresh lemon juice)? BTW, tweeted this for you!
Thanks for the retweet.
So true! Maybe a Mint Julip instead of lemonade! BTW, tweeted it for you!
Like it; my preference would be lemon merinque pie. Of course, that means someone would have to throw eggs at me. Great post!
Thanks, Charles. I think now you’ve coined a new phrase: “when life throws you eggs and lemons, make lemon meringue pie.” 🙂 Or you could be the first to try a lemon omelette (well, probably not the first; I would imagine it’s been tried and doesn’t taste very good since we never see them on restaurant menus)
You’ve got me craving lemon bars!
Great post – and the perfect pep talk for a Monday morning:)
Thanks. Hopefully the number of times in life we’re required to make lemon stuff will be few, but tasty.