The day after mom passed dad decided it was time for him to tackle his to do list. One thing that mom was really into you was gardening and she started a collection of pineapple plants. Now these pineapple plants were just a random assortment of the tops pineapples that she would eat. She loved eating pineapples. I’m not sure if she loved the pineapples because she was having problems with her taste or sense of smell or if she really just loved the taste pineapples.

After she ate the pineapple she would put the top in a small dish of water until the eyes started to grow legs (roots). She had a nice little assortment started. I think it was like five or six she started in tiny little pots. She had been on my dad to plant these pineapples! And in all fairness he had a lot going on so pineapple planting was just not the top of his priority list.

For the last year he was the sole caretaker, caretaker of the house, he was the caretaker of the yard and he was the caretaker of mom. You see, mom’s condition worsened very very quickly she was no longer able to do the small tasks like laundry without getting winded. Cooking dinner was a chore. It got to the point that even bathing herself was exhausting. So dad took on the load and never really accepted any help. Don’t get me wrong we did offer and we offered often (will get into that later).

Now planting pineapples fell quickly to the bottom of the list of things to do. I can’t tell you how many rotten pineapple tops we actually threw away. She did have one pineapple plant it was her pride and her joy. It was doing so well and it had the cutest little pineapple starting. Moms little pineapple was maybe an inch tall and started to grow right before she was admitted into the hospital for her eight week stay. She wasn’t able to get outside very often but she had noticed on her last trip to the garden that it had started sprouting.

During her stay in the hospital she told me at least 15 times about her little pineapple. She even texted me the same picture of her pineapple over and over again. I think everybody in the family knew about her pineapple. I think all the nurses on the unit knew about her pineapple. And I’m pretty sure anybody who she spoke to during those eight weeks knew about that little pineapple. Mom was VERY concerned about her little pineapple while she was in the hospital. She always made sure to remind dad to water it and check on it make sure that it hadn’t gotten ripe – if it did he better be sure to bring it up to her!

Well to my surprise when my husband and I moved into my parents house weeks later – this little pineapple was still growing. It wasn’t nearly ready. It was a golden yellow color and had to be about the size of an orange was a short little stubby thing, but man did she love that pineapple. I’d go outside and check on it and snap a picture of it every couple of days just to show her how it was doing and it always made her really happy to see that it was still growing.

Our multiple time a week pineapple progress report turned into sort of a inside running joke. At one point my husband said “mom, how long does it actually take to grow a pineapple?” to which she replied “you know, I don’t know I’ve never grown one before, so I guess we’ll just have to see.” To which he joking quipped back “mom, if you want a pineapple I can find you a much faster way to get one… there’s this thing… called a grocery store … and they sell them. If you want pineapple I’ll just go out and buy it for you.” He did go out and buy her some pineapples….and then we had more pineapple tops… which meant we have more pineapples to plant. It was a vicious little cycle.

Eventually her little pineapple did ripen. I snapped a picture and I ran inside and I showed her the photo… I said “mom look, it finally looks like it’s the right color!” She smiled. I showed off that little pineapple to everyone on her behalf. My dad, my husband, my brother, the neighbor, her best friend. I think I texted my cousin a picture of mom’s little pineapple! I was tempted to call the nurses station to let them know the pineapple was finally ready.

We were officially the crazy pineapple ladies!

Eventually we picked it and she didn’t want to cut up her little pineapple just yet. So we just left it on her little side table, it fit very nicely in the cup holder divot. Mom would stare at it and she moved it around every couple of hours. She would smell it, hold it and admire it. Every now and then I’d hear a thud from the other room as it fell off her table and hit the floor and she say “oops, I dropped my pineapple”. We would pick it up and we‘d put it back, we’d hold it and check for damage. (Told you – crazy pineapple ladies). There was something about this little pineapple brought her so much joy! I have no idea why but she just didn’t want cut it up and eat it just yet so we left it until she was ready. Eventually we did have to cut it up because it could only take so much damage and, to be honest, if we waited any longer it may not have been any good, so we cut into it and mom enjoyed a bowl of her home grown pineapple. I watched as she ate it, she ooh’ed and ah’ed like it was a delicacy.

Fast forward almost a year later, I am living the crazy pineapple lady life, alone. One of her pineapple plants sprouted a few months ago. I’ve been watching over it. Watching it grow, waiting for it to turn the golden yellow color we waited for last year. I talk to it. I tell it to keep growing, drink plenty of water, take it’s time. I’m not sure what life lesson I’m supposed to be learning with these pineapple plants. Maybe it’s patience.

Maybe… yes, definitely.

The lesson to be learned through theses pineapple plants is that all things in life take time to ripen. And when the time is right, you’ll know when to harvest. Grow where you are planted, friends; what ever life ”pineapple” you might be waiting to ripen will be ready to enjoy soon enough. When it does, I promise you, it will be perfectly sweet.