I don't know if I just have an odd way of thinking or if this sort of thing happens to everyone. Sometimes I spot something seemingly insignificant, but the memory of what I saw stays with me and takes on an unexpected significance. Some years ago I used to work in a village called Long Buckby and the journey between my home and my work took me through what I consider some of the most beautiful countryside in Northamptonshire. One year in January as I drove along a country road I saw some tinsel caught on the hedge. It was a frosty morning and the tinsel looked tawdry in comparison to the natural beauty of the frosty hedge. Yet just weeks before we had been excited by the prospect of Christmas and tinsel just like the piece stuck in the hedge had adorned our Christmas trees and added sparkle to our lives. Even now when I drive along that road I often remember the tinsel in the hedge. There is no man made 'sparkle' that can compare with the natural beauty of the world around us.
This week I took a close look at my front garden, it looks wintry and bare with just the first hints of life showing through. The trellis next to the front door that is covered in big purple Clematis flowers in May and June, is covered in the pretty yellow flowers of winter Jasmine. Last time I looked the winter Jasmine was in the far corner of the garden, but I guess it had other ideas and now I stop to appreciate it each time I unlock the front door. The green shoots of daffodils have pushed through the soil. They were in the garden when we moved here, for 20 years they have been ignored and neglected yet still they come to brighten the garden each spring. The tubs are empty now, their summer glory long forgotten. The stones around the base of the bedraggled rose bushes looked dull and unattractive. Each one had been lovingly collected by me over the years because I found the colour, shape or something else about the stone attractive, but now they looked dull and boring, a few even had moss growing on them. It looks as if we will need to get the power hose on the stones to restore their sparkle - but I am not sure that I want to arm Robbie with a power hose!
Perhaps this is a good lesson, sea washed stones only look truly beautiful when they are sea washed! Seeing the tinsel in the hedge made me appreciate the natural beauty of the hedge, and it made me see the beauty in the world around me. Perhaps everything (and everyone) has a place where true potential can be seen and appreciated.
By plucking her petals, you do not gather the beauty of the flower. ~Rabindrath Tagore
Robbie still manages to surprise me occasionally. While I was cooking yesterday evening he was sitting on the floor sorting out the load of washing that had just come out of the tumble dryer. He is much better than I am at pairing up socks and sorting out underwear ready to be delivered to each member of the family. He commented on the make of a pair of pants that belonged to one of the girls. I had never heard of the brand he mentioned and I suggested that he knew far too much about women's underwear. He was unfazed and he went on to tell me he knew because an acquaintance of his wears that brand! He seemed genuinely surprised that I should object to such intimate knowledge of someone he doesn't know particularly well, he just shrugged his shoulders and said that they were chatting about underwear one day. I have often said that Robbie would talk to anyone about anything - here's the proof! I guess it makes a change from talking about trains!!
I put the Christmas tree up yesterday, it is a longer and more complicated job than you would imagine. Finally the tree was up and ready to decorate, I leave that to the children because there is always an argument about how the decoration should be arranged and in particular whose angel should take pride of place on top of the tree. Each year since the children were born I have bought a Christmas tree decoration for each child, nothing too expensive, just something pretty (and not too delicate). I used a coloured DVD marker to write a the year, the child's name and a little message on the base or the back of the decoration. The message usually comments on a milestone or achievement that year, e.g. starting school, able to read, learning an instrument, favourite pop group, etc. I always added 'love from mum and dad'. Now the children each have their own box for their decorations and they read through all the old messages each year as they decorate the tree, the memories and the messages have become very special and the decorations provide little 'snapshots' of their childhood.
When Oreo walked into the lounge and saw the tree his eyes lit up, he was delighted to find that someone had thoughtfully provided him with an indoor climbing frame! He was distracted by a long piece of tinsel that he encountered on his way to the tree. He couldn't be sure if it was alive or dead, so he pounced on it, chased it all around the room and killed it (just to be certain it was dead). Unfortunately the tinsel got caught in Oreo's collar during the struggle and when he realised that he was being followed by a gold sparkly snake, he was seriously spooked. He leapt in the air - and so did the tinsel, he rased around the house as if the devil was on his shoulder and he was closely pursued by the tinsel, eventually I liberated him by stepping on the end of the tinsel. By this time he was too exhausted to climb the tree, but it is only a matter of time before he does. Perhaps this year we will start a new tradition instead of an angel we will have a cat at the top of the christmas tree!
