Bones knows a secret

My dad found his eggcup yesterday as he was nosing through one of the kitchen cupboards. I was hanging around to see if he found any little treats or nibbles he might give me. He took it down from the shelf and looked at it like it was the Holy Grail itself (if you believe it’s a cup that is – but that’s for another time); it’s got a picture of a rather constipated looking cow on it, I didn’t know cows layed eggs – perhaps this was the reason the cow looked so uncomfortable, it was laying it’s first cow-egg! Dad looked down at me and said “Y’know what lil man? I ain’t had a boiled egg for time.” I told him that boiling a cow-egg might take a while, it must weigh half a ton, I also reminded him that “ain’t” is not a word and there is no excuse for lazy English;  as usual he wasn’t listening to me, if only he did he might learn something…skins bah!

Out comes the saucepan and a watch to time the operation and he set to work boiling two eggs. I realised then that they were hens eggs because there is no way you’d fit a calf in there. Not long after we’re in the living room with the tv on, two 3-minute eggs, a stack of toast and a mug of tea. Like the half decent dad he is, he gve me a corner or two of toast to munch on while he filled his face. Jess and Alf came wondering over and both sat down in front of dad to beg for their share of his bounty, he duly obliged despite my protestations that they were only pretending to be good dogs while there was toast on offer.

When the food was all gone and the stinking collies had drifted away after taking part of my share of dad’s food, he sat there sipping his tea with a big contented smile on his face. I sat and watched him as he enjoyed the feeling of a full belly. He looked at me and gave a big happy sigh, “It’s the little things Bones, y’know what I mean?” I think I do know, folks spend too much time looking for the big things to go their way like winning the lottery or something, looking forward to special occasions like christmas or birthdays etc. They worry about things that might never happen. They don’t stop to relish the little things, like going for a walk, eating a good meal, enjoying being with people they love, breathing fresh air, being alive: the little things that we take for granted. You take all these little things into account and add them all up then you realise that life is a really great gift – that right there is the secret of life and once you know and understand it the world seems so much better.