Dear 123Greetings subscriber,

Quite a stretch eh?! hmm….of course, we are like rubber bands aren’t we?! We can stretch the gap between us like a rubber band, but if we dare to leave it after stretching to the end, we will end up getting hurt…! I’m not taking any chances here…see, I just stretched for a week and I’m here…hop on…the week is long!

Aaliyah and I were at Ron’s last weekend and had a whale of a time partying. Of course, the whole gang was present and it was kinda couples’ night. Everyone walked in pairs and when the music decibel toned down there was space to chatter. Yes, we were told we were the best couple around and I could see Aaliyah blush. But then came her friends with a boyfriend in tow. One showed off a golden bracelet, and Aaliyah went “Wow.” Her friend went on about how her boyfriend gift her all these expensive things…hmm…I was squirming in the couch, well, come to think of it, the most expensive thing I’ve bought her is an ice cream cone. When at last we moved out for the night, I could see the glittering stones and jewels that adorned all of Aaliyah’s friends. I faced her and said, “You know, honey, your smile can beat all those gems and rocks hands down anytime.”

Lame. Sigh!

OK. I can’t afford the expensive goodies. So what do I do, think Bob, come on! I pushed myself. Here I go, went ‘round the park, garden, streets….plucked all the flowers I could find, sneaked some, bought some…daffodils, tulips, roses, primroses, et al…and there I was on Aaliyah’s doorstep. I wonder how girls look so beautiful even when they are just out of bed and in their pyjamas. She looked gorgeous albeit confused. “Oh! Bob, what’s all this?”

I handed her the floral cocktail. “100 flowers, took me two hours by foot, see there is even thorn scar here.” Showed my wrist.

I got what I came for – She smiled!

If there’s one guy in the world whom I can relate to on Positive Thinking, it has to be Steve. He never gives up! True. Sample this, he prowls at night with a torch stuck to his forehead like an one-headlight car in the night in search of Martians or whatever antennae-horned species. He even wrote an article for Science magazine about his sighting of an UFO explaining the specific arcs and turns the vehicle (?) took and even submitted a picture to substantiate it. Of course, he got rewarded. He got a visitor in two days, a paratrooper, the guy who was working on a parachute-landing drill. You guys guessed it right. The marine was not really amused to be pictured as an UFO dweller. And here’s the kicker, he walked the space once literally, I mean, he was equipped with whatever telescope or stethoscope in his hands sending signals to those guys up there from the roof and missed the protective barrier and was there a while on the space and landed with a thud a storey below. Meggy and Kong were the first on the scene and when prodded…Steve just went, “It’s alright Meggy…my sneakers fell down.”

Ha!

Meggy was not the one to be fooled and she barked, “Steve, such a big thud from a sneaker?!”

Now get this,

“Well, I was wearing them when they fell.”

Even Kong gave him a spiteful stare!

Yes. When you are in love with the right person, you just happen to forget the materialistic things and start looking for those small, small things, like subtle gestures of love, warmth, and understanding.

She was always there for me and it’s beautiful. Hey, come to think of it, we just like to snuggle close to each other on the couch and watch all the animated movies in the world (she loves them) and just be there till the sun goes down. After that, you ask, well, I go home! Morals, she says…! Quite okay with me.

A week later after the flower-at-door-delivery incident, I met her at her place. She bid me in, we made coffee and toast and sat down for a chat. Relaxed and content, we were gabbing about anything and everything when I noticed her diary, the one that’s too personal to her, which even I don’t have the permission to peep into. Trust Bob to defy…..when she moved to the kitchen to dump the dishes, I opened her diary. I couldn’t convince myself to read the pages, not fair to her, so just turned the pages only to find a hundred flowers page-by-page crushed and preserved.

Only she can do this to me. I almost cried!

Okay, here’s the one about Rachel my niece. Well, this incident happened when I turned 16. The little tot is a delightful prankster and I adore her. Hmm….but I do hate her when she nags nonstop about her school and friends. I didn’t give her much time those days what with me busy at work and having to spend time with Meggy and gang. Hanging out was fun and had little time for anything or anybody. It was my birthday and we had this big party at my place. Rachel was eager and all dressed up, but left alone. Of course, I had things to do, like, chattering with my buddies, dancing with the girls….Rachel jumped on my foot and reached for my hand to lead her into a dance, but I refused. You see, I had things to do. Gifts! Yes, Meggy gifted me a baseball cap; Steve, a T-shirt, and Ron…well, I don’t remember. And then came Rachel, with her hands closed. “Happy Birthday Bob” she announced and gestured me to open her hands for the gift. I went on my knees, held her hand and opened it to find….err…well, nothing. Yes. Nothing!

Gave her a cold stare, “Rachel, don’t you know, when you give someone a present, there has to be something inside?”

Her eyes were wet in an instant, “Oh, uncle Bob! I blew 16 kisses inside. And you can take all of them. They’re for you!”

I was crushed. I put my arms around her, I didn’t know what to do, I wanted to say a lot of things, but all I could manage was, “Thank You Rachel.”

The best gift I ever got.

Sorry and Thank You are two things that you don’t tell two people, one, your friend and another your parents. We don’t need to spell it out, they just understand. Especially our parents; Working Parents Day is near and it’s time to give the professionals who juggle the office and home a break and spend some quality time with them

That’s your Moment of Zen, wink* wink*

Peace,

Bob
Editor, 123Greetings
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