Recently I overheard a Father and daughter in their last moments together at the airport as they had announced the departure.

Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the Father said, ‘I love you, and I wish you enough.’

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

They kissed and the daughter left.  The Father walked  over to 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.  ‘Forgive me for asking, but why is this a for ever 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,’ 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 a moment and looked up as  if trying to remember it in detail, and 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.’ 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 no matter how grey 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.

He 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.

I WISH YOU ENOUGH

-by Author Unknown

At an airport I overheard a father and daughter in their last moments together. They had announced her plane’s departure and standing near the door 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 good-bye 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, her next trip back will 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 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.