Perspective

My son prizes efficiency.  Wasted effort annoys him.  

His wife grew up in a Soviet Socialist Republic.  She wastes nothing.

At dinner, he laughingly decried the cost/benefit of her waste free method of cutting an apple.  Halving it then cutting out the core in a close circle seems less efficient than cutting around the edges of the fruit, leaving the core encased in a protective rectangle before landing in the trash.

Queen T never knew when the next apple would appear in the market.  Every morsel was precious.  She would never waste a single bite. That disposable rectangle hurt her in her heart.  Because of that, he undergoes the arduous process with love in his heart, and snark in his eyes.  

I love them both.  

I had an apple corer in the drawer.  After a brief description and evaluation each was satisfied.  I was happy to have had a solution at hand.  The conversation moved on.

But I was struck by how an apple core can exist in two very different planes.  My heart ached for the little girl who ate every single bite of the apple she felt lucky to have.