JAM

Jam.  I am not a big fan of jelly or jam.  I would rather eat the fruit itself.  But this is a cute saying.  I really do try to spread happiness, so maybe some of it is coming back to stick to me.

When I was little my great-grandmother used to buy bushel baskets of peaches and make jam from them.  It was an all-day (sometimes two) affair.  There is a lot of work that goes into making jam.  Blanching, peeling, cooking with sugar, putting into sterilized jars, letting it cool, pouring wax on the top to seal it so that it doesn't go moldy.  I don't think a lot of people have the patience to do all of that today.  It's so easy to go to the store and pick a jar up off of the shelf.  But let me tell you, the store brand doesn't taste anywhere near as good as my great-grandmother's homemade peach jam.  I don't think I will ever taste something that good again.  Now that is jam that I DID like.

Sometimes sharing happiness is as much work as making jam.  It's so much easier to concentrate on ourselves and our problems than to put our attention on others and try to make them happy.  I'm going to try to share more happiness this month.