Just a Bowl of Cherries

I went to the funeral of my cousins's grandmother today and the first thing we did after a brief prayer was listen to one of her favorite songs sung by Judy Garland, Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries. After wondering how many carbs would be in a bowl of cherries (about one carb per cherry if they're fresh and of "medium size") and sneaking off to the ladies room to bolus and test my bloodsugar (116 mg/dl), I got to thinking about how this woman lived her life.

I didn't know "Grandma Janet" well, but I know she loved to sing and laugh and give of herself. I remember going to her house, full of clown paraphernalia and being scared to my wits (I hate clowns), but something about the smiling clown faces let me know that this lady wasn't scary--she was probably fun. So while it was a sad occasion for many in my family, I was grateful to be there. Grateful to be alive. Grateful to be home. Grateful to be hugging my dad and my cousins and my aunt and sharing in their tears. Grateful to be able to drive my own beloved grandmother to the funeral and swap old stories in the car ride to and fro. My grandma Junie makes me laugh a lot, and sometimes, when life gets me down I know to just talk to my grandma, who always wears rose colored glasses and who will just tell me to forget about it, let people be how they are and let it go. Sometimes I'll say "Yeah, but grandma, she's so mean...." or "But Grandma, it hurts my feelings," and she'll just say "Oh schatzie, you can't let that stuff bother you. Just forget it." And while I tend to want to cling to my own injustices at times, her pithiness is just what I need. So, in honor of Grandma Janet and my own Grandma Junie, here's the song:

Life is just a bowl of cherries
Don't take it serious,
Life's too mysterious
You work,
You save,
You worry so
But you can't take your dough
When you go, go, go

So keep repeating "It's the berries."
The strongest oak must fall
The sweet things in life
To you were just loaned
So how can you lose
What you've never owned

Life is just a bowl of cherries
So live and laugh,
Laugh and love
Live and laugh at it all!