Wednesday, May 5, 2010

A lesson in taking things for granted

Every autumn my grandparents pack up their caravan and drive out to Bright in country Victoria for a couple of weeks. There's a big autumn leaf festival (or something) down there, and they've been going since my mum was a kid. It's a few hours drive out of Melbourne, and so this year they decided to leave the caravan in Bright for a night, and drive into the city to visit me. They're staying in a hotel in St Kilda overnight and they plan to drive back to Bright tomorrow some time.

Tonight we went out for dinner together and they were telling me about their time in Bright so far. They were talking about what walks they had been on, what shops they had gone to, and what activities they had done. Then Nan said "We brought our bikes with us but Pop wouldn't let us ride until after we had come to visit you in case something happened and then we couldn't drive to Melbourne!". I looked at Pop and he nodded in agreement.

What is amazing about this is firstly, that they cared so much about visiting me that they would abstain from an activity that might prevent their visit, and secondly that despite being fit, healthy, and active they are aware of the fragility that comes with their stage of life. For them this was a small, insignificant decision, and an even more insignificant comment over dinner. But for me it made me realise that they are taking nothing for granted. They're aware that just because they make a plan, it doesn't mean it's going to happen as they'd like. They're good at delaying gratification. Meanwhile I'm selfish, stubborn, impatient, and I take my plans for granted.

I'm so glad they came to visit!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I tend to disagree with your distinction of yourself being "selfish, Stubborn and impatient", rather in i think that we live in a world were , in some way, we are encouraged and sometimes even pushed towards what could be seen as self indulgent behaviour to adhance our carrers and toher motivations. However your Grandparents do seem very caring to have considered you in perhaps what will become a new tradition in thier bright adventure