Gazing at London from My Kitchen Sink

Gazing at London from My Kitchen Sink

While sweeping the kitchen floor, I threw a glance at the shelf just above the kitchen sink. A solitary laminated plate with a strawberry painted on its surface leaned against the pink wall of the shelf. I decided to adorn the half-empty shelf with some souvenir which my husband and I have collected. I placed on the shelf a small Korean tea cup given by our friend who attended a seminar in Korea. I added a miniature porcelain plate from Strasbourg with hand paintings of its towering buildings which my sister bought when she toured Europe. Next to it I displayed an egg-shaped salt shaker given by an aunt who’s residing in Germany. I also borrowed some pieces from my daughter’s porcelain mini tea set (I think they’re made from China, as usual). To complete the decoration, I placed against the wall of the shelf a coaster with a picture of the Tower Bridge, a well-known London landmark. An English missionary gave it to my husband. Though I really want to visit the countries where these souvenir came from, for now I am pleased to gaze at each one of them each time I wash the dishes. I particularly like gazing at London from my kitchen sink.

There are other ordinary things I find pleasure in. I like to watch the sky in the middle of the morning and follow the clouds as it drift against the blue expanse. I gasp in wonder when at dusk the sky is painted orange-pink. At night, I gaze at the millions and millions of stars that adorn the firmament. And when my children are already asleep, I stare at them, one after the other. I stroke their hair and pat their behind the way I used to do when I put them to sleep when they were still babies. I don’t know why but it gives me a great sense of serenity doing that. When I wake up in the morning I spend about a minute tracing with my eyes the features of my husband’s face—his closed eyes, his big nose, his full, red lips, even his sunken eye bags. What a delight to wake up each morning beside the love of your life.

I consider it a blessing to learn to enjoy the ordinary things in life. To be thankful for the things that I already have, like my husband, my children, my family and friends who remember us enough to give us souvenirs, and many more. I’m thankful for the sun that shines so brightly causing my laundry to dry quickly. I’m happy to see a bunch of mangoes dangling from a branch. I get excited cooking my husband’s favorite dish. And I easily get satisfied munching chocolate chips. It’s liberating for me not to covet or gripe about the things that I still don’t have or the things that I won’t ever have. If I don’t have them, I still have other things to enjoy and be thankful for. Or maybe I’ll have them too later on. I just enjoy what I have for the moment.

Later in the evening after I had displayed my souvenir and had enjoyed the view from my kitchen sink, I received a message that my brother, sister, and sister-in-law were going to Bangkok for a pleasure trip. I’m glad. I hope they enjoy the trip. As for me, the view from my kitchen sink is just fine.

What are the things you are thankful for?