Me (while making decorations for Halloween): What we need is some black construction paper.
Brisco: What’s instruction paper?
Me: Not instruction, construction.
Brisco: Huh?
Me: INstruction is when you read or someone tells you how to do something. CONstruction is when you build something.
Brisco: Well, I’ll take the instruction paper and you can tell me what to do.
Me (the morning after getting an unwanted visitor in my bed at 4 a.m.): Who dares to disrupt my slumber?
Brisco: Big smile
Me: Who dares to disrupt my slumber?!
Brisco: Laughs hysterically
Me: Hey! I’m talking to you!
Brisco: (mouth clamped around a soggy thumb): I don’t know what that means!
Me: Slumber means sleeping. Who dares to disrupt my sleeping?!
Brisco: (more laughter, and then…): I don’t know!
Me: You know what disrupt means?
Brisco: No.
Me: It means bother. Who dares to bother my sleeping?!
Brisco: Oh! Why didn’t you just say so. That was me!
Brisco: I’m starving thirsty. And I know that’s a word cause it has a vowel in it.
Me: They are both words, but they don’t go together. When you need food, you are starving. When you are thirsty, you can say, “parched”. Parched is a good word.
Brisco: Yep. Well, I’m still starving thirsty. And I’m parched.
Brisco (At the campfire): I wanna roast some marshmallows.
Me: We don’t have any.
Brisco: Well, I wanna roast something. I’ll just roast these paper towels then.
Me: That looks like a giant marshmallow.
Brisco: Yep. What else can I roast?
Me: Well, you aren’t actually “roasting” paper towels. You are burning them. We roast things that can be eaten. We burn trash.
Brisco: Well, what else can I roast?
Brisco (while sitting on the potty): Mom, When we get to the letter “T”, listen…“T…T…Turd.”
Me (with a disapproving face): Yes, Brisco, that’s letter T. Think of something else.
Brisco: T…T…Twert
Me: What is that?
Brisco: I don’t know.
Me: Where’d you hear it?
Brisco: Coop.
Me (just being curious): What’s a turd?
Brisco: It’s just poop.
And that’s All in a day’s work!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Just enough
In a world of first, fastest, biggest and best, it seems odd that anyone could simply be satisfied with “enough”. But sometimes, enough is just what we need.
For some, it’s easy to get caught up in having the most or being the most important, but that’s not really what makes for a happy life. Doing right, being content, and knowing that we have just enough of all the wonderful things God blesses us with every day should bring satisfaction and comfort. At least that’s what this anecdote teaches.
I can’t attribute it to anyone in particular, but it was sent to me by someone I’ve never personally met on a day when it did my heart good to hear its message. A coincidence? Maybe. Although, I like to think that coincidence is nothing more than God’s decision to remain anonymous…another wise notion I borrowed from a friend.
“I wish you enough”
A father and daughter in their last moments together at the airport heard the announced 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 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,” he said.
“When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, 'I wish you enough.' May I ask what that means?”
The man 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 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.
And I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.”
With that, the man began to cry and walked away.
It’s easy to get caught up in the business of life and all the crazy circumstances that come along with it. But our biggest joy often comes when we learn to welcome the challenges, appreciate the opportunities, and be thankful for all those whose paths cross ours. Surely all of that should be enough.
And that’s All in a day’s work!
For some, it’s easy to get caught up in having the most or being the most important, but that’s not really what makes for a happy life. Doing right, being content, and knowing that we have just enough of all the wonderful things God blesses us with every day should bring satisfaction and comfort. At least that’s what this anecdote teaches.
I can’t attribute it to anyone in particular, but it was sent to me by someone I’ve never personally met on a day when it did my heart good to hear its message. A coincidence? Maybe. Although, I like to think that coincidence is nothing more than God’s decision to remain anonymous…another wise notion I borrowed from a friend.
“I wish you enough”
A father and daughter in their last moments together at the airport heard the announced 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 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,” he said.
“When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, 'I wish you enough.' May I ask what that means?”
The man 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 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.
And I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.”
With that, the man began to cry and walked away.
It’s easy to get caught up in the business of life and all the crazy circumstances that come along with it. But our biggest joy often comes when we learn to welcome the challenges, appreciate the opportunities, and be thankful for all those whose paths cross ours. Surely all of that should be enough.
And that’s All in a day’s work!
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