The “Work or Leisure” series is a humorous account of some of our favourite pastimes from a cross-cultural perspective. I hope you will write back and share some of your experiences.

Gardening
I am always so fascinated when the spring season rolls around; the reason being the flurry of activity that comes with it. After being stuck in the doom and gloom of winter, there is suddenly new life all around us. Our spirits are revived by the longer days and the gardening season is now in full bloom. Oh for sure, there are a lot of dedicated gardeners out there. It is amazing how “committed” people are to their gardens. I admire people with “green thumbs”, no doubt. I love the beauty and the colourfulness of it all. However, let me put it this way, gardening is just not my cup of tea! The “cynic” in me is just not sure what the fuss is all about. Considering that we have roughly about four months of the year for this favourite pastime, I do not get what the frenzy is all about 🙄😳😳😳🙄, my goodness. I often get asked, “do you have a garden?”, to which I respond promptly, “Indeed, I do, I do, thank you very much, I have perennials, they just show up every year”. Now, that is my kind of gardening, no stress, no pain!. You see, I have come to associate gardening with punishment. When I was in secondary school during my youth in Ghana, we had to do weeding one day of the week as an extracurricular activity. I went to a boarding school and there was an activity for each day of the school week. Weeding the hard soil with a hoe was never my idea of fun at all. I have since that time never had any love for gardening. Sorry, I will admire from a distance, just do not ask me to go “googoogagaga” over it. I reserve that for new babies (we have had two in my family this month 😊). As Canadians will say, I have been traumatized by my experience… I probably need some counselling to overcome my phobia of gardening, not, lol.

The Word of God says that whatever our hands find to do, we must do it as unto the Lord; for me, that does not include gardening. My conclusion, drum roll please, gardening is work not leisure in my book.

Watch out for part 2 of the “Work or Leisure” series on “Pets in the coming weeks.