I recently overheard a mother and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. The departure had been announced. 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 for 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 wishing each other 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.
Painting: Moonbeams by Jessie Wilcox Smith
