For the past 5 years, my mother and I have been driving my grandmother to Florida each November. We stay for a week or so to get her all settled in and then fly back home. She is happy to spend the winter in the warmth, and we are happy knowing that she made it safely and is all set for the next 5-6 months.

We have our set routines and rituals now. There are certain restaurants that we like to visit each year. There are a couple of little shops that we like to take trips to and friends that we visit. Each year, we pick one place to go for a bigger “field trip”. We have been to the Titanic Museum, Sea World, Tampa Zoo, and several other fun places.

We even have our own set of foods that we like to have each year. I have to make a stop at Krispy Kreme; there is no negotiation there! But most important is the fresh fruit. There is nothing like fresh oranges, fresh squeezed orange juice, and, of course, grapefruits.

I have always loved grapefruit. Ever since I was a little kid, it has been one of my favorites. On Sunday mornings, I would be at my grandparents’ house, and my grandmother would dish out fresh grapefruit for my grandfather and me, lightly sprinkled with sugar. I would take my first big bite, and my grandfather would say, “You are eating all of my grapefruit!”. I would giggle and quickly take another bite. It was our Sunday morning standup routine.

My teen years came, and I didn’t appreciate my grandparents as much as I should have. Grapefruit Sundays did not happen as often. My grandparents started their winter treks to Florida, and each spring they would bring me home a bag of fresh grapefruit. They always remembered my love for this tart fruit.

My grandfather has since passed, and my yearly treks to Florida with my grandmother have started. We always hope that the grapefruits on her friend’s tree have started ripening. This way, we can start our time here with a fun treat. Most years, there are at least a couple ready to be picked. We gather them up and bring them back to the house. My grandmother dishes them out and lightly sprinkles them with sugar. As I take that first big bite, I hear in the back of my head “You are eating all of my grapefruit!”.

For me, grapefruits will always be more than a mere fruit. They are a memory of some of the happiest times in my life. It may seem like a simple thing, but the joy of enjoying a fresh grapefruit with my grandparents is something that I will always treasure.