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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Garden (09/07/06)
IT'S WORTH IT

I'm an "outdoor" kinda guy.

I wouldn't swear to that in a court of law because then my wife would hold me to it. She'd have me mowing and weeding and sweating and just generally getting dirt under my usually "well coifed" fingernails, when really, all I want to do is enjoy a little nature.

Now don't get me wrong! I'm not a FANATIC about it or anything! Also I'm somewhat lazy. My feeling about working in the garden is that it's fine, IF I have nothing better to do (such as watch a pivital football game between the Patriots and the Panthers) but a man has got to know his limitations.

I'm just saying that I think that it is a fine and pleasant feeling to have the late afternoon sun on your shoulders while you are pulling a few stray weeds out of the plant that you set for your mother-in-law after her funeral so that your wife could see it bloom every spring and be reminded of her mom. (We miss you terribly Catherine).

Our garden is kinda like that.

In it, we have planted reminders of everything that is dear to us.

There are the dogs that we have loved and wanted to keep close to us and the two fish that we took into our home when my son was a boy and just HAD to have an aquarium. We named them Oscar and Felix. They stayed a part of our family for almost 13 years.

And there are the trees and bushes that herald the onset of seasons. (It's a BIG garden.) It gives us a lot of comfort.

I like it because it provides me with the chance to get back to nature for a few minutes each day while I have a cup of coffee and let our current dog (Rocky) do his morning "sniffing". I get to take a walk through a place that isn't filled with Sales Reports and Deadlines and Bosses screaming about things that I can't help. It's simple and lovely and it keeps me in check about what matters and what doesn't.

If that means that I have to get my fingernails dirty occasionally then, so be it. It's worth it when Spring comes and the buds blossom. It's worth it when Summer arrives and the whole world is alive with buzzing bees and chirping birds. It's worth it when Autumn comes and God's great earth is crowned with harvest. And it's worth it in the quiet glow of winter when the world is asleep under a blanket of snow, promising that there WILL be another Spring.

So yeah...I'm an outdoor kinda guy...

But It's WORTH it.
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This article has been read 1067 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Mo
09/17/06
I liked this. (We have a number of "memorial"/ specially-named trees, too. Watching them grow is a nice remembrance.) This has a nice, casual voice to it.
Donna Powers
09/18/06
A very charming story, and I really enjoyed reading it.
william price
09/18/06
Very good. I really liked one of the last paragraphs where you go through the seasons. One of my favorite paragraphs this week. Overall, a good story. Keep up the good work. God bless.
Martha Seeley
09/19/06
wish my husband wnjoyed gardening as much as you seem to. This article really drew me in. Thanks.
Marilyn Schnepp 
09/22/06
Great story once again! Almost as good as the "Forgotten Sailor" on the river of the church last week! Just great writing, Period. Always love your laid-back style...but you must like it in Level 1, because you never move up WHICH is where you should be!!