It doesn’t seem like these two things are related, but hear me out. I went to lunch and afterwards went to swim in the pool. I was thinking about my baking and how I was going to send my kiddo some of the chai shortbread. And then I thought, “Ooh, the lemon shortbread is also good and I should bake those, too!” Which of course led me to, “I’ve gotta put that on the grocery list.” So, here I am making that mental list. Then, I sang our choir songs for a while, (I water walk/swim for an hour), and then my thoughts moved on to: “Why do we think lemons are a metaphor for bad things?” (This is my brain exercise and I have been turning into Sheldon from Big Bang Theory for years!)

The word lemon brings thoughts of something being poor, bad, or broken, or giving an unsatisfactory answer. Lemon symbolizes something that looks sweet but is bitter to the taste so that could mean negativity, disappointment, betrayal, or a bad or bitter experience. Finally lemon can be a metaphor for a defective product, for example a car that looks good on the outside but has significant flaws or problems underneath.

Next, I started thinking about the news (Pod Save America hosts were on Colbert last night) and thus my thoughts went a little downhill from there.

Over these last few days, the news has been somewhat abysmal, yet there are some highlights that I have been contemplating about, such as the loss of two great men in my lifetime, one more recent than the other – Martin Luther King and President Jimmy Carter. They left a legacy that will be hard for anyone to follow.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s greatest achievements include leading the civil rights movement, organizing nonviolent protests, and delivering his famous I Have a Dream speech at the march on Washington in 1963. The speech called for an end to segregation and racism in the United States.
-He was a leader of the modern American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, organizing and leading marches and boycotts.
-He was a catalyst for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
-He organized nonviolent protests, advocating for nonviolent methods.
-King led the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a nonviolent protest that lasted over a year.
-He refused to allow violence, prison, or the threat of death to sway his goals. 
-In 1964, King became the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

I was young when the civil rights riots took place, but growing up in the south you were exposed to that hatred and fear so it was absorbed into your very bones. I believed in Dr. King’s fight and contemplated how I might make a difference in the future. The injustices that occurred back then cannot be undone, and yet some of us learned that if we kept fighting, one neighborhood at a time, we could help others who didn’t look like us get the justice they deserved. Some of us still have hate in our hearts, but I will continue to strive to overcome that hate in others every day that I am on this earth. I commit small acts of kindness every day and that’s what I can do right now. I believe in Martin Luther King’s legacy. His message and model have reminded us over the years how to combat inequality today. 

Jimmy Carter might not have been the greatest president, but he made great strides. Here are some of the facts about him:
-As president, Carter pardoned all Vietnam draft evaders and negotiated several major foreign policy agreements, including the Camp David Accords, the Panama Canal Treaties, and the second round of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, and he established diplomatic relations with China. He also confronted stagflation.
-As president, he set out to increase human and social services. He created the Department of Education, bolstered the Social Security system, and appointed record numbers of women, blacks, and Hispanics to Government jobs. In foreign affairs, Carter set his own style.
-After his presidency, President Carter emerged as a champion of human rights and worked for several charitable causes. He and his wife Rosalynn traveled as freelance ambassadors all over the world to help others. In 1982, he established the Carter Center to promote and expand human rights, which earned him a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. He traveled extensively to conduct peace negotiations, monitor elections and further the eradication of infectious diseases. Their dedication to eradicating Guinea worm disease (dracunculiasis) was exemplary. Under his championship cases dropped from 3.5 million in the mid-1980s to just eleven cases so far in 2024.
-Additionally, Carter worked with Habitat for Humanity International, an organization that works worldwide to provide housing for underprivileged people. Through such projects, Carter has maintained a high profile; he was often seen on television, wielding a hammer, and helping with Habitat home construction or providing his opinions on the issues of the day.

I grew up in Georgia and remembered visiting his hometown when I was young. I never met him, but people loved him. I campaigned and voted for him when I was in college and was so proud people listened to me and also voted for him. His legacy inspired me to give to needy causes such as Habitat for Humanity, and volunteer and work on various local projects over the years.

So when we Lemons need to change our image (and thoughts, and actions…), we need to make lemonade and create our own legacy. Life may give you lemons every day, but you can make your own lemonade (or lemon melt-away shortbread cookies!) and find your way to overcome the challenges presented to you and keep a positive attitude no matter what happens. Do something great every day. Forgive and be happy with the accomplishments you’ve made in your lifetime so far. Achieve your lifelong dream no matter how old you are and forget about the naysayers and crazies for a little while because no one that I know of can predict my future. I love you all and send you warm wishes!