Peace all,
Just thought I'd share some thoughts with anyone who's interested...
It was 2 o'clock in the afternoon and the leafblowers around the neighborhood were screaming in unison, like birds of the same species. I stood amazed at the power in my hands. There I was, holding a man-made machine that was designed to harness the force of nature and channel wind into a 180mph funnel of energy. The leaves almost seemed to react more naturally than they would have reacted to a rake, as if they were used to the wind telling them which way to go, and they acquiesced into orderly piles.
I looked over at my father, once the proud, strong bread-winner. Slowly, life has drained his strength. His role has changed. His very being, his purpose, is slowly being taken away from him.
Becoming a man, I needed to do things myself. I needed to be better than my father. I needed to tell him I didn't need his help, that I could do it myself. And that is what I've become, because of him. And I am grateful.
But what yard-work has taught me is that my father now has very little left to hold on to. When I tell him that I don't need his help, I am telling him that he is not needed. And what could be more sad. So occassionally I catch my self. I stop my self from being a man, and I try to be a son. I ask my father for help. And in those moments, I see glimpses of years past. I see the strength, the pride of a man who has successfully raised his children to be good men, to be independant.
And for that, I am grateful.
May peace be upon you all,
Tay
