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I Wish You Enough
By Archie Wortham
reprinted with permission (c) 2003
Recently I overheard a father and
daughter in their last moments together. They had announced her departure
and standing near the security gate, they hugged and he said, " I
love you. I wish you enough."
She said, "Daddy, our life together has been more than enough. Your
love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Daddy." They
kissed and she left.
He walked over toward the window where I was seated. Standing there I
could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on his
privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, "Did you ever say good-bye
to someone knowing it would be forever?"
"Yes, I have," I replied. Saying that brought back memories I
had of expressing my love and appreciation for all my Dad had done for me.
Recognizing that his days were limited, I took the time to tell him face
to
face how much he meant to me. So I knew what this man was
experiencing.
"Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?" I
asked.
"I am old and she lives much too far away. I have challenges ahead
and the reality is, the next trip back would be for my funeral, " he
said.
"When you were saying good-bye I heard you say, 'I wish you enough'.
"May I ask what that means?"
He began to smile. "That's a wish that has been handed down from
other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone."
He paused for a moment and looking up as if trying to remember it in
detail, he smiled even more. "When we said 'I wish you enough,' we
were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good
things to sustain them," he continued and then turning toward me he
shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory.
"I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright. I wish you
enough rain to appreciate the sun more. I wish you enough happiness to
keep your spirit alive. I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys
in life appear much bigger. I wish you enough gain to satisfy your
wanting. I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess. I wish
enough "Hello's" to get you through the final
"Good-bye."
He then began to sob and walked away.
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