Remembering Dad's Lessons

When I was a teenager, I did not like our kitchen countertops.  I thought they were old and worn.  My dad always took care of these counters.  Any time we used a knife, my dad would remind us to get a cutting board to protect the counters.  In my teenage mind, this didn't make any sense.  Why in the world would you care for something so used?

One day, I was cutting a fruit.  Although my dad's voice came to my head to use a cutting board, I didn't want to.  So, I began cutting.  Shortly after I began, my dad happened to walk in the kitchen.  He grabbed a cutting board to place under my fruit.  I asked him why we needed to use a cutting board because the counters were old anyway.  What good does it really do?

He simply told me, "Kimmy, if we don't take care of the things we have, we're not going to take care of the things we want when we get them."

His simple truth resonated with me.  From that point on, I tried to take care of the things I had.  Through times where we only had an ugly couch (that was free), other furniture that were hand me downs, and, yes, even countertops we didn't like.  I tried to take care of these items, not because I cherished them, rather because it is what I had.  I wanted to take care of them so when I got the items I did like, I would take care of them, too.

My dad had an artistic talent which played out not only in his profession as an architect, but at home in his gardening skills.  My parent's yard was always immaculate!  Beautiful flower beds arranged in a way that was calming to the eye.  He loved secret gardens and found ways to demonstrate his love in various small gardens on his property.  From poppies to pine trees, and bamboo to daisies, each garden bed created a symphony of beauty.

As an adult, I appreciated his talent on a deeper level.  I marveled how he worked so hard to provide for his family, then came home and worked for hours on end in the evening and on Saturdays to beautify the yard.  In amazement one day, I asked him how he was able to care for the yard so well.  It was a large yard and every square inch was beautiful.  He said, "Well, I just do it one bucket at a time, Kimmy."  He frequently used five-gallon buckets to put weeds in, carry irrigation water to places the water didn't naturally come to, etc.

Now when I have a task that seems overwhelming, no matter the task, I'm always reminded of my dad.  I tackle each task, "one bucket at a time."