Monroe Dispatch - No Struggle, No Progress

I love fresh squeezed orange juice. Each Christmas my parrain would gift my brothers and me a large box of fresh oranges and apples. As young kids, we didn't always appreciate getting fruit on a holiday for extravagant gifts, but as the years passed, we sincerely appreciated our parrain's thoughtful kindness and consistency.

I would use those oranges to make fresh squeezed orange juice. I would cut them in halves and use a glass juicer to extract the juice.

The oranges were so sweet, and the juice was so good! I would drink about 4 ounces at a time because I was so anxious to drink it.

The pandemic restored my love of fresh-squeezed orange juice. With nowhere to go, I pulled out the glass juicer and relished a fresh glass of juice after squeezing it and running it through a strainer to remove the pulp.

I recently saw fresh squeezed orange juice in a grocery store. It was in a clear container, most of which had settled at the bottom of the jug. On the back of the jug, the text read, "Shake well."

When I got home the first thing I did was take out a glass from the cabinet to pour half a glass of freshly squeezed OJ. I could not be happier at that moment. It was just as good as my own squeezed by hand. Sure I paid a premium for it, but it did not matter!

Like orange juice, life can be sweet sometimes but requires hard work. We must remember to shake up life sometimes to really mix up what happens so that we can get a good glass filled with a good combination of what we need and don't need in order for it to taste good.

Don't be afraid to squeeze and shake!