The Wooden Bowl

This week I flew to Chicago for a meeting and hope to blog about my visit in the city later this weekend. After 3 days of intense meetings and site seeing, I arrived back to Austin at 11:30pm Wednesday night. Standing by the carousel, I watched as everyone else picked up their bags. Yup, it had finally happened. After all these years of travel, I had finally had an airline lose my luggage. At first I was angry and a little bit frustrated. I explained to the customer service representative that everything I needed to go to work the next day was in that bag, and began to demand that something be done...Now!

What did I expect? Did I really believe she could just click her fingers and it would show up? After evaluating my temper tantrum, I realized that she had nothing to do with my missing stuff and thanked her for helping me make the decision not to go into work in the morning. Pleasantly surprised at my change in attitude, she gave me a cup of coffee and promised to call when the bag came in.

When I got home, I decided to read my email. Below is a parable that my father sent me that seemed fitting and made me decide that the lost luggage scene was worthy of blogging.

The Wooden Bowl

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year - old grandson.The old man's hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth. The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. 'We must do something about father,' said the son. 'I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor.' So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl. When the family glanced in Grandfather's direction, sometimes he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food. The four-year-old watched it all in silence. One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, 'What are you making?' Just as sweetly, the boy responded, 'Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up. ' The four-year-old smiled and went back to work. The words so struck the parents so that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done. That evening the husband took Grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the family table. For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.

When I finally got to work the next day, and told my story, my co-worker said, "You know Erin, if it is going to happen, it almost always happens to you". We laughed and shared more stories.

Through the review of past experiences, I have realized that I've learned that, no matter what happens, how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will always be better tomorrow.

I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles four things: a rainy day, the elderly, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.

I've learned that, regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life.

I've learned that making a 'living' is not the same thing as making a 'life'.

I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.

I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back.

I've learned that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you. But, if you focus on your family, your friends, the needs of others, your work and doing the very best you can, happiness will find you .

I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision. I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one.

I've learned that pain is inevitable but suffering is optional.

I've learned that I still have a lot to learn.