My Korean Mama Says "If You Can Pick A Good Watermelon, You Can Pick A Good Partner"

"If you can pick a good watermelon, you can pick a good partner."

I am eight years old, in the Korean grocery store, watching my mother knock on every watermelon in the bin.

“Desiree, if you know how to pick a really good watermelon, sweet and ripe, then you will know how to pick a good husband.”

Well, a husband was the furthest thing from my mind that day. But she did plant this seed in me that I have to be good at picking perfect watermelons.

Consider the color and the sound that reverberates when you knock with your knuckles. Green stripes are a deep dark green, and the pale stripes a creamy light yellow. If it’s too shiny, it isn’t ready. Listen for a deep and hollow pitch, as the watermelon has more water. A high-pitched sound indicates a dense and unripe melon.

We want our partner to be ripe and ready when we invite them into our heart. We want the things we invite into our lives to also be ripe and ready, neither unripe (premature) nor over-ripe and rotten.

All our senses need to be engaged to determine the readiness of a person, place, thing or idea. Take a good look, feel, taste, smell, and listen to all these details. The signs are there in plain view. Take note, gather all the information and you will be able to draw a conclusion before committing to a watermelon (decision).

It’s no secret that I didn’t pick the best watermelon of a husband. But I am getting better in general at picking riper things.

It takes practice being able to recognize the right timing. Years of trial and error, especially if you did not have good examples or mentors. Because as you bite into that dry and tasteless watermelon, you learn what isn’t ideal. You learn what doesn’t work, and make another attempt at figuring out what is ideal.

Go pick out another watermelon, because it might be super sweet and juicy this time.

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