HAVING IT YOUR WAY

My father was really a very wise man. On many occasions in my life, Dad gave me the opportunity to make decisions that would affect the entire family. I remember one time when my parents were buying a new car and Dad asked me what color I thought they should chose. Mind you, we did not buy new cars often and the color chosen would last for years. I thought about it for a minute and decided on gray as the perfect color. I secretly knew that gray was my dad’s favorite color and that gray is the color he would have chosen. Gray it was.

Another time, my dad had receive a small inheritance from an old uncle and it was decided by my parents to buy a stereo console--an extravagance for our family. Dad took my sister and me to help chose which console would be perfect for our home. I knew exactly which one Mother and Dad had in mind, and so I choose that one.

Every year at Christmas time, Mother and Dad would take us to pick out the family Christmas tree. Wouldn’t you know it, I always selected the one that I thought Dad felt was the most beautiful. This may not have always been the case for it seems that Dad would have to get out his saw and drill and rearrange the branches to make it more perfect.

The point is, I learned early in my life how fulfilling it is to leave selfish wishes behind and to make people’s desires more important than mine. I guess Dad knew that this was a lesson I needed to learn and he had a very clever way of doing it. I’m not saying that you should always put the desires of others above your own, but there are times when it is just not that important to have it your way.