Joie de vivre!

It’s good to be back!

The extended holiday season just got over. I’m grateful for the time spent with family and friends. The holiday rush, the giggling and bonding all snowballed into a memorable time and now everything is quiet but with a sweetness all around.

This January my house was blessed with a string of house guests. Each one bringing their own warmth and fireside stories with them. After the last of them left and after winding up everything, I came to sit on my terrace. The feeling of just being after all the excitement dies down, is priceless.

I’m sitting surrounded by lush potted plants, soaking in the sun with them. In this moment I realise that I’ve always taken these gentle beings for granted. I know their value but I never valued them till this very moment. Sitting with them in companionable silence, I’m enjoying being alone without being alone. It’s refreshing!

When we shifted from our previous abode my mother created our lovely terrace garden bit by bit. As time passed by, other family members caught on the enthusiasm. My father enjoys growing mint leaves in summer and recently my husband and my daughter tried their hand at growing potatoes. It started as a school project and there were initial setbacks but now it’s growing at a fast pace just like the enchanted beanstalk in the popular fairy tale – Jack and the beanstalk!

I exchange the occasional greetings with these sunlight lovers and enjoy watering them but I have never nurtured them. I’ve been clicking them and appreciating their hues and colourful flowers but never taken the initiative to put my fingers in the soil and connect with them. Sitting with them now, I realise that my life would become so barren without them. The eye is so accustomed to them, that it never wonders about their absence.

So far I’ve never tried my hand at gardening. I’m not even sure if I have “green fingers”. However, these oxygen givers have definitely given me something to mull about and brought about a fresh understanding of the phrase, Joie de vivre!

Post and the picture of the lovely Pansy is by Harshi