Revisiting places... and memories...

My facebook status said that I was visiting one my favourite places on earth.

Certain things make certain places special. Sometimes it is the sheer beauty of the place. It could also be the people there. Certain times it is simply the memories that place holds for you.

This place that I went to sure holds a lot of memories for me. Most of my holidays were spent there. Roaming the farms, playing in the sand, making bullock cart miniatures, learning to climb trees (never did succeed. I tried to start with a coconut tree. Bad choice for beginners.), and learning to play gilli thandu (which, again, I failed at).

My aunt and uncle don’t live in the farm house anymore. They’ve moved to the village proper. And these days when I visit, I don’t usually visit the farms. Today I decided to.

The funny thing with growing up is everything that looked big and far don’t seem that big or far anymore. Not much has changed except that one of the farms has become a coconut farm, the farm house is gone, though there is a portion of the old building still standing. The bend in the road is still the same. And the bumps. You use the age old trick to escape dogs – bend down pretending to pick a stone. And oh, some things were bigger. The coconut trees in one of the farms that I used to walk past. They’ve grown quite tall.

On the way back I spotted a peacock.

I love villages. I love this particular village.

I would love to hear about your favourite places and the memories they hold for you. So, let's play tag.
Marsha, here's one more blog idea for you. Madison and Sandy, i love your stories and insights. Anju, i know you have some stories and you are dying to tell them. Clarissa, if you want to play along. And anybody else that wants to reminisce, please play along.

Sometimes, i've been called a Grinch...

I've been tagged!

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Like the person who tagged me, I haven’t had egg nog. So, I will go for hot chocolate.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
No Santa. No Christmas trees. Friends and family give me gifts. Friends usually wrap them. Family just give them.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
Again, no Christmas tree. And, no lights on the house. The lights in the house are usually the fluorescent bulbs and them yellow blubs which consume lot of energy.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
No mistletoe. Haven’t seen one in my life. Ever. Well, except on television, I suppose.

5. When do you put your decorations up?
Ummm… I don’t put up decorations.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
Guess it would be what I eat at Thom’s Christmas party.

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child:
As a child, I was back from my boarding school for the holiday season. And I guess my favorite memory is of going to my aunt’s place and roaming around on the farms.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
Well, I didn’t know I was supposed to believe in him in the first place. My early memories of Santa were of this somebody who was dressed as one distributing prizes during some school Christmas celebration. And no, there was no gift-receiving during Christmas.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Ummm… The last couple of years I opened them on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. This year I forgot and opened it on the day I received it. Yes, I am the one that Anju is talking about.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
See response to no. 2.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
I have never ever seen snow.

12. Can you ice skate?
Nope.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
Umm. I guess there are quite a lot.

14. What is the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
Friends and food. Family doesn’t really celebrate Christmas.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
See response to no. 6.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Don’t have holiday traditions really.

17. What tops your tree?
No tree.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?
Both.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
O, Come all ye faithful

20. Candy Canes: Yuck or Yum?
Not really fond of candies.

21. What do you want for Christmas?
World peace?! Ha ha.

22. Do you attend an annual Christmas Party?
Guess it would be Powerhouse’s and Thom’s and those that my friends host. Used to go to the Svobodas’, but they’ve moved. :-(

23. Do you dress up on Christmas or wear PJs?
I dress normally.

24. Do you own a Santa hat?
Nope.

25. Who do you normally spend Christmas with?
Friends from church. But this year it’s with family.

And I tag Sandy, Julie, Clement and anybody who wants to play it...

Memories

I have been listening to stories. From people who have seen quite a bit of life. (I hope to be such a story-teller when I am their age!) While I have learned a lot from those conversations, there’s this thing that stands out for me now.

What you are actually left with are memories. And a good life is a shoe-box full of good memories from which you can pull out snapshots of people and past, look at the moments frozen in time and smile…

Humility

Humility does not come from debasing oneself. Humility should proceed from being fully aware of who we are, what our weaknesses and strengths are. And it comes from the willingness to place ourselves lower than others despite how big or how good we are.

Analogies

Analogies and examples - even if they are really brilliant - do not prove a point. They only clarify it.

Stolen moments

If i could write about one thing today, what would it be about?

Perhaps, it will be about stolen moments.

No, i am not talking about the moments stolen from us. Rather, these are the moments that we steal from life, like gulping down a lungful of fresh air before ducking back into water.

The moment of silence in the restroom away from the crowd
The quick moment of looking up and acknowledging God in the midst of a hectic day
The moment you allow yourself to be drawn into the beauty around you
The moment between turning off the light and your head hitting the pillow
The moment of repentance
The moment of release
The moment of glimpsing the big picture
The moment when hope's restored
The moment when peace is made
The moment when you feel God smile at you

The stolen moments from the pool of time...