The Double Meaning of "The Orchard"

When I was growing up I spent a lot of weekends with my great aunt and uncle and my grandparents.  I don’t remember ever getting in trouble with my great aunt, the girls’ Aunt GG.  That’s not to say that I never did anything wrong…but I think I may have been a teensy bit spoiled by my uncle and her.

I don’t ever remember getting in trouble at my grandparents’ house exactly, but I remember Pop “going to the orchard”.   

They had a couple of garden spots on their rural property, one of which had an open pasture area with fruit trees.  I guess I’d get loud sometimes, or whiny…I don’t remember the particulars (or perhaps I just don’t want to admit guilt)…but I can clearly see Pop grabbing a lawn chair and his newspaper.  “I’m going to the orchard!” he’d declare.

And when my mom would come to pick me up, she’d ask, “How many times did Pop have to go to the orchard?” 

“Only once!” I’d happily report. 

Or, “Three times,” I’d say, sheepishly. 

Occasionally I’d meet her at the door to boast, “Pop didn’t go to the orchard one time!”

That became a bit of a family joke, and it makes me smile just thinking about it.

These days, “going to the orchard” has an entirely different meaning.   

We have a gorgeous commercial orchard just to the north of our town.  Hubby and I went there a few times before the girls were born, but in the past three years, it’s become a favorite family destination.

Yesterday was a cooler day, and we decided to make a trip to the orchard.  When the girls woke up from their nap, we told them they had a surprise.  “Would you like to go…to…the…ORCHARD???”   

The excitement of three-year olds is truly something else.  Their faces instantly lit up, their smiles so wide, their eyes aglow.

We shared a fried peach pie and some ice cream…we ran…we went down the big slide over and over and over…we walked around the pond and saw the frogs and the dragonflies…we bought some flowers.

A trip to the orchard always results in so much family fun.

And I love that the phrase “going to the orchard” will one day make my girls also smile with nostalgia, albeit for a different reason.