I WISH YOU ENOUGH
  
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 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 'Hellos' to get you through the final 'Good-bye'.