What I learned from a lemon tree in my grandmother's backyard at age seven

That summer was different because she let me climb it and by July we were both covered in sticky sap which has a smell like old pennies but also citrus you can almost taste on the back of your tongue even after showering -- that's what I remember most about lemons not just the fruit but the scent of them in high heat when they sit out on a counter all afternoon. She used to make this preserve where she boiled sugar and lemon slices for exactly twenty minutes which is too short by modern standards but whatever, it tasted like nothing was wrong with it at all and I would eat it straight off the spoon before dinner while sitting under that tree watching grasshoppers -- have you ever seen a grasshopper in real life or do you only know them from pictures because I've not seen one since 2014 and my neighbor says they aren't common where we live anymore which is crazy because there were thousands of them every spring when I was kid. Anyway the lemon tree taught me that most things take longer than you think but some things are worth waiting for even if it takes four years to bear fruit -- anyway this is what I wanted to say about lemons and childhood summers and how time feels different when you're small.

Same. Nothing beats lemons.

My grandma had a huge lemon tree too, and we used to have these family breakfasts every Sunday where everyone made their own lemonade from it — like a whole ritual around one tree. I still get nostalgic about that smell in the summer.