gifting
in english it’s a persimmon. in french it’s a kaki. in latin it’s diospyros kaki. which explains the french. but none of them explains my husband’s calling them, in a rare moment of verbal confusion, “kaka,” which really, i think, misses the point. today a new friend stopped by, a fellow stanford alumna, a fellow engaged human being who likes just enough of the same things as i do, and knows just enough about things i don’t know anything about, and who makes good conversation over tea. she brought me these three persimmons/kaki/kaka. it checked all my boxes. aesthetically beautiful. delicious. disposable. unique. custom chosen. and of california origin. truly some of the most talented and intuitive gift-giving i’ve run across in recent memory. thank you, sally. i hope i was half the hostess that you were a guest.
persimmon fruits from menlo park, ca (Diospyros kaki)
A friend told me her mother always said “do a gracious act graciously”. You elevated sipping two cups of tea to a work of art yesterday; crackling fire in the background, little plate of perfect biscuits, quirky tea bags one pulls at two ends to squeeze out every drip, and lastly, a single lit candle to celebrate the beginning of a friendship. A gracious act done most graciously. Lucky me! Thank YOU.