My mom always says that I have a sweet tooth. There is no doubt that I love chocolate but the end of summer also reminds me of another sweet treat.
Every year my grandma would climb a tall ladder, reach for the sweetest cherry and then drop it in a tin can that hung around her neck. We went berry picking so much that I quickly learned that huckleberries is a term for larger blueberries. This tradition stopped when my grandma's fight for the best cherry was interrupted from falling off the ladder. She broke her arm and this incident triggered the beginning of our battle with Alzheimer's.
Alzheimer's might have changed this tradition but it never took away the memories I associate with berry picking. I also remember how my grandma canned cherries and stored them in the fruit cellar. When we crowded around my grandparent's television to watch the Wheel of Fortune, my sister and I always asked for the canned cherries. They tasted as sweet as chocolate and even better than trying a fresh cherry off the branch.
It is easy to let moments that are small and mighty fade away. But I can't help but think of these memories when I see cherries in the grocery store. In order to keep this tradition alive, my mom and sister and I go berry picking every year. They say to enjoy the little things in life and I truly believe that small moments like this make the biggest impact on our lives.