Once when Mom and I were shopping she decided to get some tangerines. These tangerines had leaves on the stems, which she started pulling off. I asked her to stop.
This is a difference between Mom and I. The tangerines will sit on my kitchen table for the week in a blue bowl. I will enjoy the smell of them and I will enjoy the orange and blue colors together. The leaves add an element of beauty. For Mom they were just garbage to be torn off. Why not do it there at the store and let them deal with it? I tried to explain to her why I wanted them but she didn't get it.
I understand her. She's a no nonsense, down to earth pragmatic woman. She was buying food to be eaten, not art.
I remembered it tonight when I was picking out tangerines for the week, purposefully looking for the ones with leaves. Beauty is transient. One by one the tangerines will be eaten. The leaves will indeed end up in the garbage. But all of my senses will be fed until they are gone.