Peas and Potatoes

One of my favorite vegetables is green peas ... yep, I totally love green peas. I don't eat them very often anymore because they are higher in carbs than many other veggies, but when I do I'm in green pea heaven. I'm not sure how old I was when I first heard my mom use the expression, "Just like two peas in a pod," but I do remember her saying it a lot. Mom used the words to describe anything that seemed to her to be the same, but most of the time when she said, "Just like two peas in a pod," Mom was referring to people rather than things. And more often than not, there was a hidden meaning reflected by Mom's tone of voice ... and that meaning wasn't usually a nice or positive one. Her "two peas in a pod" comment generally meant that the two people she was referring to weren't speaking, dressing or behaving in a way that met with Mom's approval. Mom sure was an opinionated gal, and we disagreed way more than we agreed. In fact, now that I think about it, Mom and I were as different as any two people could ever be ... we were never two peas in a pod, that's for sure.

Over the last couple of days, I've been blown away by the incredible response to my post about the passing of Fred Phelps. The number of views and comments and messages has continued to climb higher and higher, with the current number of views being four times that of my most read post of all time, Not One More Mile. As I've read through many of the notes I've received, it's made me think a lot about peas, pods and principles. No, seriously ... it's made me really contemplate and do a ton of deep thinking about the similarities and differences that exist within all of us. Some folks subscribe to certain beliefs or theologies or doctrines, but even within those groups of people, there are varying degrees of interpretation that lead to certain differences. Even among those who don't believe in the existence of God or a higher power or master of the universe, there are some who classify themselves as atheists, some as agnostics and some as secular humanists. And before you pepper me with messages defending your reason for believing whatever you believe or bashing me for believing what I believe ... I'm not debating and if you choose to do so regarding this post, you're completely missing my point this evening.

I remember the day I realized that Mom's statement about certain people being "just like two peas in a pod" had a very distinct flaw ... a flaw that took me years and years to notice. It was a summer afternoon when I was in my mid-20s. Mom and I were sitting on a porch at the back of her house, and we were shelling peas. Mom was talking about someone ... Mom was always talking about someone, by the way ... and she said, "I knew better than to trust that woman ... her and that other one are just like two peas in a pod. Ain't neither one of 'em can be trusted. Two peas in a pod, I tell ya." The moment the words came out of her mouth, I looked at all the peas in the bowl that was perched on my lap and saw that not one of the plethora of peas before me was exactly like any other one ... not a single solitary pea was just like any other single solitary pea. It was in that moment that I understood ... there are no two peas in a pod that are the same. Not one pod has two peas that are exactly alike ... not one.

There were a lot of peas in the bowl that day that looked similar to one another at first glance. It was when I took the time to study them as individual peas rather than a group of peas that I first began to understand the truth ... every single pea in the universe is different from every other pea in the universe. But when you put all those peas together and cook them with a little garlic and butter, it doesn't matter that there are differences between them ... they just taste flipping good. And if you take all those different peas and mix them into a big old bowl of mashed potatoes ... well ... suffice it to say that in my book, there ain't nothing on this earth that tastes any better than mashed potatoes and green peas all mixed in together. And you know something else? Green peas and potatoes are as different as night and day ... different tastes, different textures, different nutritional values ... but when you put them together, they combine to create something pretty darned wonderful.

Here's the thing ... I'm pretty sure the peas don't sit around in the pod and say to each other, "You're not as good of a pea as I am because you aren't perfectly round." And I'm equally as certain the mashed potatoes don't rise up in protest against the peas when they want to join them. And neither should we, friends ... neither should we. It's time we stop throwing stones and shooting fiery arrows at one another. It's time to become peas and potatoes ... each one different in our own way but so very good when we're mixed together. With butter. And garlic. And salt. And pepper. And cheese. And any other different ingredient that makes something good even better.