I Wish You Enough . . .

There are stories that come my way that touch the heart which are too good to simply FWD: friend to friend. The following is one such narrative sent to my wife, then to me. It is of special significance as her mother has passed a few weeks ago and her absence is still keenly felt in our lives. Still it is a reminder that none of us have a promise that the ones we charish can be taken for granted ... not even for tomorrow.

Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the mother said, 'I love you and I wish you enough'.

The daughter replied, 'Mom, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Mom'.

They kissed and the daughter left. The mother walked over to the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see she wanted and needed to cry.

I tried not to intrude on her privacy but she welcomed me in by asking, 'Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?'.

'Yes, I have,' I replied. 'Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?'.

'I am old and she lives so far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is - the next trip back will be for my funeral,' she said.

'When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, 'I wish you enough'. May I ask what that means?'.

She began to smile. 'That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone'.

She paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail and she 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'.

Then turning toward me, she shared the following as if she were reciting it from memory

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the
day may appear.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.


I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.

I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear
bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

She then began to cry and walked away.

• They say it takes a minute to find a special person,


• an hour to appreciate them,
  
• a day to love them
  
• but then an entire life to forget them.

PS: It was one year ago 1/13th that God held me in the hollow of His hand as my car rolled several times on an icey road.

To all my friends and loved ones, I WISH YOU ENOUGH!!!

Most Important Moment of My Life

I love the song from the Broadway musical "RENT" which most people consider the theme song. It's actually entitled Seasons of Love.

525,600 minutes, 525,600 moments so dear.
525,600 minutes - how do you measure, measure a year?
In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee.
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.
In 525, 60 minutes - a year in the life?
525,600 minutes, 525,600 journeys to plan.
525,600 minutes, how do you measure the life of a woman or man.

The older I get, (and I still think I'm a spring chicken at 57) the more I appreciate the fast moving minutes of my life. Having "semi-retired," I'm not quite as career-driven as I once was. I now know more about what I don't to do in my life as what I want to accomplish. I have been so blessed having worked in the worlds of television, radio, theater, and some film production over the last 30 years.

(Oh, my! I'm starting to sound like one of those "when I was a kid we didn't have TV in color.")

Earlier this year, I survived a bout with the big "C." Cancer has a way of putting you life on pause while you re-evaluate your priorities. Most days I treasure the early minutes of my morning. I allow myself to enjoy the view out my front window while my feline princess sits in my lap being worshipped. I sip my Starbucks (home brewed) coffee and do a little inspirational and fun reading. I get to think of and pray for my friends. I get to savor the moment.

Just last week I survived a multi-rollover in my 1990 Bronco which I should not have walked away from. One gusty west-Texas wind on an ice slick interstate litterally flipped my daily routine upside down.

One of the life events took weeks to adjust to, the most recent has rudely interrupted life with bruises and pain and immediate alterations to even the most simple things like sitting up, bathing at scratching your own nose.

Fact is, under normal situations, I can get antsy if I have unstructured time on my hands. I take my reading material to high school football games. I carry more than enough research material that I could possibly deal with in 3X the times I am away from home. I NEED to keep my mind busy. It's not because I can't handle the silence. I do enjoy those time where my attention is not under demand.

But I do love the engagement of my mind and imagination. I hate wasting time. That's why most sports bore me. It takes too long, play to play, inning to inning. Now reading -- my mind has to keep painting and repainting the scenes around the characters. And movies, give me plot, plot, plot (as well as plenty of action.) And it doesn't hurt that I can live another life and time through the characters.

When I was a boy, "just a minute" seemed to take FOREVER. Now 60 seconds has become jet propelled, approaching the speed of light. There isn't much I can do to change the moment past. And reality is, especially after the events of this week, I don't know if I am promised the next one.

Out of the 525,600 minutes of this year, I've decided that THIS moment is the Most Important Moment of all. I entend to enjoy this moment, and those that follow to the fullest.