Far too often people wait for special dates on the calendar to stop and acknowledge how fortunate life has been to them. Traditional holidays, while wonderful anchors to hold us together in a fast-paced world, shouldn’t be the only times when everyone counts their blessings and thoughts turn to family, friends, good health, and the many other things that touch our lives in positive ways. Gratefulness should be part of each and every day. There are dozens of things for which we can give thanks, showering us with joyful thoughts and humor to brighten life’s journey.
I have to confess that recently I had an event in my garden that left me less than thankful for my neighbors. A long, noisy party kept me awake half the night. The next morning I discovered evidence that several guests staggered through my front yard. A few days later I noticed that the plants that form a border between our properties were looking sickly. A bit of detective work revealed that apparently my plants had also been treated to large quantities of beer!
I tried to rinse the sticky residue from the leaves, but apparently it was too late. The plants were potted (in more ways than one) and suffered too much. My state of mind wasn’t much better.
I bought more plants and spent a hot, sweaty day replanting. I concluded that while my Dianthus didn’t appreciate beer, the bugs loved it! Ants, spiders, flies, and centipedes were crawling all over everything, including me, as I removed my hung-over plants from the pots.
Fortunately, life has a way of putting things in perspective just when we need it most. While reading the L.M. Boyd column in the local newspaper, I came across the following piece of trivia. Ancient Egyptian farmers feared five crop destroyers: locusts, worms, mice, sparrows, and hippopotamuses.
A smile slowly spread across my face; at least I didn’t have hippos in my garden! The moral is there is always something to be happy about, even if you have to look closely. Very closely.
Wishing you much to be thankful for, including a hippo-free garden.
