The Wooden Bowl

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, sometime 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.

There a long preachy email about the end of this story but I did buy my son a
wood working  kit for Xmas. He will use it wisely.