Last week we celebrated a birthday.
Because it's tradition, the birthday person selects the menu for his or her special day.
This time it was home made popcorn chicken and french fries.
It's not a very healthy meal, but it was a labor of love,
and the house smelled like a fry-daddy for the next two days.
The birthday boy filled his plate first, and we all enjoyed plenty-o-food.
At one point, someone lifted their goblet to drink, and the beverage spilled on the nearby plate of french fries. One of the kiddos started to scold the spiller, and pointed out that the birthday fries were going to be mushy. The perpetrator was starting to feel bad. It showed. It was silly, really, because everyone had eaten more than enough.
And me?
Well, I had just finished reading "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch, and many of his messages were still fresh in my head.
One of the chapters mentions an incident when he drives to his sister's house to pick up his neice and nephew in his brand-new convertible. His sister was admonishing her children to be careful in their uncle's new car. She was telling them to wipe their feet before getting in, not to mess anything up, not to get it dirty. The uncle wisely perceived that she was setting this 8 and 9 year old up for failure, because eventually they were probably going to get the car dirty. So he made things easy, and opened a can of soda and deliberately poured it all over the back seats of the convertible.
His message: People are more important than things.
The french fries? Just things. So I stood up, took my goblet, and dumped the whole thing on the plate of french fries, smiled and said "they're just french fries."
P.S. I really liked this book.
It was quick and meaningful.
I plan on reading it again. Soon.
8 comments:
Okay, but ruining a batch of homemade french fries isn't the same as rug in a car! Ouch! Loved that book. I read it two days before he died.
Love that lesson you taught your kids! Also LOVED the book, although it did make me cry. Not that it takes much to make me cry!
So Jen, you must have been the perpertrator?
I heard about this book a year or so ago, but would like to read it.
You always have something good going...perfect.
Yummy meal...add those no no donuts to breakfast and we are all set.
love mom
Way to go Mom! I think I'll have to get that book and remember the lessons when i get stressed over the small stuff!
I saw the lecture on the Internet, it was very inspiring.
That's funny. Sounds like a good book.
one of my FAVORITE books. I need to re-read it.
How have I stayed away from here for so long! Loved this. I havent read the book yet, but watched the documentary on him and was moved beyond words. After reading this though, I am deffinitely getting with the program and reading the book.
Miss and love you!!!
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