At an airport I overheard a father and daughter in their last moments together. The airline had announced her plane's1 and he said to his daughter, "I love you. I wish you enough."
She said, "Daddy, our life together has been more than enough. Your2 is all I needed. I wish you enough, too, Daddy." They kissed good-bye and she left.
I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to3 his privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking. "Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be4 ?" "Yes." I replied.
Saying that brought back memories I had of expressing my love and5 for all my Dad had done for me. Recognizing that his days were6 , I kept telling him face to face how much he meant to me.7 I knew what this man was experiencing.
"Why is this a forever good-bye?" I asked.
"I am old and she lives too far away. And the reality is, her next trip back will be for my8 ," he said.
"When you were saying good-bye I heard you say, ‘I wish you enough'. What does that mean?"
He began to smile. "That's a wish that has been9 from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone." He paused and looked up as if trying to remember it10 . He smiled even more.
"When we said ‘I wish you enough', we wanted you to have a life filled with enough good things to11 you," he continued and shared the following as if he were reciting it from12 .
"I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright. I wish you enough pain so that the smallest13 in life appears much bigger. I wish you enough gain to satisfy your desire. I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you 14 "
He then began to15 and walked away.
