EDDY'S PAGE
by Eddy Robey M.A.

Recently, someone asked me to name the greatest gift I had ever received. Turning my thoughts to the past, I realized that the happiest memories were of times when I was able to bring a smile to someone dear. The most beautiful of those smiles usually arose from something I had done, rather than a present I had given.

My father was 60 years old when I was born. Arthritic, he would put his feet up in the evening, and say how good it was to rest them. As a small child, I started to rub them, and to this day can remember the pride I felt in seeing his discomfort melt away.

I can still see my son's gleeful grin when we would play "This Little Piggy". How miraculous those perfect pink toes seemed to a young mother.

Of course, we all like to reminisce about our first loves, and the tenderness I felt when offering a foot massage, is one of my most romantic memories.

Now, I am getting older. My father has been dead these many years, the little boy is grown to manhood, and love has left me behind: but those smiles are still mine.

I am going to make a suggestion, so that you too may experience this. The next time someone visits you, offer this gift of summer. Fill a small basin with 3 inches of cool water. Add a few drops of Peppermint extract. Put it at your guest's feet, and give them a fluffy towel. Let them soak away the cares of the day.

Then relax and enjoy the sight of simple pleasure on their face. May the memory of that smile warm your heart in winter.