Ugly On the Outside

Where my narrow street meets the big road, there is a little fruit and veggie market. Little. But bursting forth with brilliant colors, so much so, that crates and tables overflow to the very edge of the street. Claudia greets me with, "Ahh! Darling!" Today her helper giggled as they both ran around the shop cleaning their jewels and holding an ice cream stick. "We work in a vegetable market and every day we eat ice cream!" And everyday I go to see what deliciousness they have new.
Today, I went to buy veggies to make salsa and fruit to fill my fruit bowl. I picked a handful of beautiful, rich-red tomatoes. The other worker, a dark skin boy, said, "For your house? No! You need something better. Try these. They are sweeter and heavy with flavor." But they were ugly. Long and with yellowy patches. "These are the best."
So often, we want our "fruit" to look good. I want it to appear orderly and perfect. No spots. No discoloration. A perfect specimen. But, it's true, isn't it - that most times the most delicious fruit are the ones that aren't perfect.
So, maybe my kitchen isn't spotless. And maybe I mess up on the lyrics of a song. And maybe I send a birthday card late.
Maybe I need to be thinking about how my fruit tastes instead of what it looks like on the outside.