wooden bowl
Thursday, February 14, 2008 @ 4:47 PM
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 Grandfather,"
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.
People will forget what you said ...
people will forget what you did...
but people will never forget
how you made them feel.Labels: story
