I wish you enough

Heart shape hands on the blue sky
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The following was posted by Philadelphia man Bob Perk, and shared on social media. It is a truly beautiful piece, which really makes you stop and think (and possibly dab your eyes).

Recently I overheard a mother and daughter in their last moments together at the airport.

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

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

They kissed and the daughter left.

The mother walks over to the window where I sat.

Standing there, I could see that 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 many challenges ahead and the reality is that 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. When we said, ‘I wish you enough,” we were wanting the other person to have a life stilled with enough good things to sustain them.”

Then, turning to me, she shared the following, 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 you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.”

With tears in her eyes, she turned and walked away.

They say it takes a minute to find a special person.
An hour to appreciate them
A day to love them
And an entire life to forget them.