December comes in the bright yellow of the mustard flowers in the fields, in the early blooming peach buds shyly in front of the gate, in the bright colors of flowers waiting to bloom...
When the dry, dull sunshine, the dry, cold that makes your lips chapped gradually gives way to a cool breeze, when the sky is sometimes gloomy, gray and cold, and sometimes suddenly bright with warm sunshine, we suddenly realize that December has arrived.
December comes in the bright yellow of the mustard flowers in the fields, in the early blooming peach buds shyly in front of the gate, in the bright colors of flowers waiting to bloom.
December, the month of hustle and bustle, of busy worries with the wish of fulfillment. But December is sometimes also a month of nostalgia, regret, and anxiety when nothing has been done and time just passes by so quickly.
December comes, the vast fields are flooded with floodwater. The water overflows, the furrows that have been dried for days become soft and mushy. Children go to the water, play in the mud, and enjoy themselves without feeling the cold. Sometimes the children even catch fish and shrimp that are carried down by the water.
Adults were busy plowing and preparing the fields for planting, in order to finish the harvest before Tet, because January is the month of fun and festivals. The fields were bustling, bustling, filled with laughter and teasing in the air filled with the faint smell of earth and the pungent smell of bright yellow mustard greens.
In December, he had to worry and save to prepare for Tet. He cleaned and tidied up the ancestral graves, arranged the pile of firewood that had been stored for a long time to dry, and looked at the dong leaves at the end of the garden to prepare for the Tet banh chung pot.
She cut old coriander plants to dry as seeds for the next crop, but did not forget to save some to cook a pot of aromatic water for Tet. She always reminded and advised her children and grandchildren to be careful during the "month of honey roots" and it was only later that I understood the full meaning of the word "honey roots".
Dad repainted the door, bought white lime to re-coat the time-stained walls, and fixed up this and that to make the house spacious and bright.
Mother buys and measures out beans, peanuts, and sticky rice to prepare cakes, sticky rice, sweet soup, and jam, but always saves up so that her children can have new clothes. The children eagerly count down the days as Tet approaches...
Even though “seasons go by season”, in that cycle, whether in memory, in the present or in the future, December is always full of hustle, bustle, and worry because everyone wants to complete their plans and work for the year.
Farmers want to finish the crop season, want to harvest the fruits of their labor throughout the year to have a happy and fulfilling Tet. Workers wait for their salaries and Tet bonuses. Children far from home arrange and pack their belongings with nostalgia, longing and excitement for the day they can return to their loved ones.
In the hustle and bustle of life, December is like a gentle reminder: “The way home is through our hearts, no matter the sun or rain, near or far…”. Returning, to live fully in the love and warmth of the homeland is like hot blood flowing to the heart.
December can be likened to a mother, silently sacrificing, accepting hardships and worries, carefully saving love so that in spring, new buds and green shoots will sprout for life, so that all things can begin a new cycle full of promise...
MINH PHUONG