The day after Christmas presents difficult challenges to every working member of a household. Waking up and scavenging through Christmas leftovers for breakfast in the fridge are the first hurdles of the day. I felt like kicking myself this morning for not taking the whole week off so that I could just relax. Well, it is too late now to apply for a vacation because half of the personnel at work are out enjoying vacation this week. These wise men and women put in their vacation requests way back in January 2007 just to secure their spot.
What was my reason for not taking a vacation? The lure of the spring season to me seemed to be stronger than the Christmas season. You see, I am an avid gardener and working on my flower garden gives me great pleasure. March 20, 2008 is the much anticipated day of any amateur horticulturist because that is the first day of the spring season. With extra help from my children, I was able to clear my backyard and I am hoping to plant numerous flowering plants that would transform my garden into a cottage garden.
I know that my passion is not shared by many of you. Many view gardening as a hobby that elderly people only appreciate. Though this is a common belief, many of the younger generation is missing out the health benefits derived from building and maintaining a garden. One of the known benefit is a garden gives the gardener solace. Having inner peace while toiling mother earth is one of the best therapy one can get. Being a farmer’s son, I have an appreciation towards the bounty that mother earth rewards any person who gets his hands dirty in toiling the soil of the land. That brown material that you call dirt or ground is the flesh of the earth and water is the life giving blood of this planet. You can coax a dormant seed into sprouting roots, stems and leaves if you have the right soil and temperature mixture. In exchange for the care that you give to the plant, it rewards you with its hidden wealth—a bountiful supply of vegetables. Got seeds?
One of the most common question asked on Christmas day is, “What did you get for Christmas?” Thy author plus his spouse has devoted their time in making sure that their kids are the recipients of gifts worthy of their admiration. Our little ones had been waiting of Christmas morning since January and so when they woke up, they immediately dashed towards our Christmas tree ready to be surprised. I trailed behind them with my camera and took numerous pictures showing them hugging their gifts. The last gift was behind the Christmas tree and when my kids read the tag, they said, “Daddy, this one is for you!”. I was surprised to discover that I have a gift. The box was one foot thick, 2 ½ feet length and width. When I opened it, I discovered that it is a stainless mechanic stool.
Stool is a contraption that is used to sit on. Just want to make sure that you guys have a CLEAR idea of the type of stool I got as a gift. My wife bought me the stool because last weekend, I had to replace the broken door handle of our van. I had to take off the whole door from the van and spent a long time carefully removing the panels that were attached to it before I was able reach the locking mechanism. Not having a stool made the job a little difficult for my legs.
Looking at the array of high-tech toys that are now available in the market, it sometimes makes me feel sad that they were not invented when I was a kid. The coolest toys decades ago were battery powered toy trucks or robots that had blinking eyes and moving mechanical legs. Gone were the days when simple toys bring great joy to children.
Though I missed having high tech toys during my youth, my wife and I have a gift that continues to give us joy. This gift is our children.
Enjoying our Christmas gifts
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment