From the President 
I want to share with all of you a story that I came across.
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, he said to
his daughter, “I love you. I wish you enough.” 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 goodbye and she left. He 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 goodbye 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 goodbye?” 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 goodbye 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 as if trying to remember 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 you enough Hello’s to get you through the final Good Bye.
He then began to sob 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 an entire
life to forget them.
My friends and loved ones, I WISH YOU ENOUGH.
I have read this story many times lately. You see my dad died on July 22, 1990 –
15 years ago this month from bone cancer. My dad was my best friend for all the
years that I can remember. He was one of those kind of people that made you
appreciate life, love every experience that you made whether it was good, or a
bad experience you learned a lesson and went on with your head held high. But he
also was the one that introduced me to the outdoors as a little girl living on a
dairy farm, and whether it was throwing bales, plowing fields, cleaning barns,
repairing fences, hunting, fishing, he was always teaching me about the world
around me. About the wildlife that we shared our farm space with and respect and
love for the outdoors and to not take if for granted. I want to pass this story
on to all of you to think about your lives, and your memories of family and
loved ones that you have shared time with. Are you taking the time to make
memories with them? Are you appreciating the ones that you spend time with and
are you telling them that every day? It seems that we all get so very busy with
the day to day living that we forget what is important- that our family and
friends know that we care about them and that we love them and are concerned for
their happiness and well being. Tell someone “I wish you enough” today and then
share this story with them. And get outside and enjoy the beautiful day with
them taking a hike, kayak trip, a cold drink on the deck whatever. Make that
time and those memories.
Have a great month making memories.
May Schaefer
President OWSD
