A Compliment

Grandpa, grumbling as usual, and I was in the garden one day hoeing the weeds that seemed to thrive with grandma’s care and tending of her cherished garden. She was down on her knees tending to the plants with the loving care that only she seemed to possess. And it seemed as each plant responded by producing the most tasty of their fruits for her.

Then grandpa could be heard as saying, " A man shouldn’t be here hoeing. This is woman’s work. A man should be out in the fields with a team of horses doing man’s work. That is where he belongs."

I silently gasped as I heard that and quickly looked down at grandma to see her reaction to this obvious sexist remark from her husband. She just looked back at me, winked and smiled. She then lowered her head again as if knowing what was coming but did not wish to appear to be encouraging it nor wanting to stop it either.

I then looked back at gramps, feeling a little bad for grandma and said, " Well grandpa why don’t you do it then. I’ll stay and finish hoeing as grandma wants."

Grandpa stopped his hoeing at my words, placed his huge callused hands on the end of the handle, placing his chin upon his hands, he just stared at me a few seconds. He then raised his head and turned it over towards the chicken coop across the way.

He then pointed to that direction and said to me, " See that young rooster strutting around in the yard? If you was to listen to his thoughts you hear him crowing about how important he is, how he is the ruler of the roost here and that everyone should be admiring him for being what he thinks he is."

I just nodded in agreement for it did seem as if that cock was doing just as gramps was saying he was doing.

Gramps then continued, " Now, look at all the hens. They are going about their business ignoring that young cock as if it seems they know something that young cock still needs to learn and are just allowing that cock to think as he does. Well, In fact, they do. They know that while that young cock may think he is the ruler of the roost they know also that they are the ruler of the nest and that is where the eggs are laid." With that said he went back to his hoeing but with a little more vigor.

I just stood there confused as usual after one of gramps little rants of wisdom. Looking down at grandma I could see a smile and a little blush tinting her cheeks. She then stood up; her apron filled with the largest and juiciest green tomatoes that she found draping heavily from the vines.

"Time to start supper so that I can feed my hungry men" she said as she started walking toward the house."

As I watched her leave a thought entered my mind and with that thought a smile crossed my face. Grandpa had just paid grandma one of the finest compliments he could, but in his own way as a man. And grandma knew it too.

What was grandpa saying? He was saying that marriage was a very special and unique relationship between a man and woman. Each has their own place in that relationship. He was saying that while a man may think he is the head of his house and family, if he was wise, he will know something else too. He will know that it is the woman who is the ruler of the home, the garden. a part of her domain. With that thought in mind I then followed gramps example by going back to our hoeing.

As I hoed I could already taste supper knowing that at the supper table there would be a huge plate filled with grandma’s famously delicious fried green tomatoes. Tomatoes that she will fry in the butter that I had spent most of the day churning in the kitchen. My mouth was watering already in anticipation.