We are in the process of renovating our kitchen and a contractor came in to our house to give an estimate last night. This would be our third and last contractor to get an estimate from. My husband was still out of town and it was just me and my baby at home. When I answered the door, I didn’t expect to see what I saw. This gentleman has to be in his mid or upper 70s. He was standing in front of my doorstep carrying a suitcase that you could find in an antique store. He greeted me in his Southern accent. Honestly, I was a little taken back. It’s not everyday that I deal with a contractor who’s old enough to be my grandpa.
I showed him what I wanted to be done in my kitchen, which is a lot!!! He listened to me carefully but unlike other contractors, he didn’t take notes at all and didn’t say a word. Feeling a little strange, I asked him, “Is this project a bit too big for you?” Then he said politely that he’s been in the business for 30 some years, currently working on a huge home renovation where he gutted down a wall and relocating a kitchen and a garage, and he assures me that there is no job that is too big for him. Then he took measurement my entire first floor, including kitchen area and the whole first floor, since we’re changing the flooring. He chatted a little bit about my son and he said he’s been married for 51 years, has grand kids and great grand kids.
Astonished by his last statement, I asked him, “Wow… 51 years? We don’t see that a lot these days, do we? What’s the secret of being married with the same person for 51 years?”
He said, “It’s just simple. Understanding each other and being able to let things go. I’ve probably done things that my wife was not very happy about, and she’s probably done things that I wasn’t very happy about. At the end of the day, you just have to let it go. Now my wife and I are closer than ever?”
I thought to myself, it sounds so simple yet so hard to do. I, myself, am struggling to let things go. I wish I could erase all the bad memory. All the hurtful things in the past that are haunting me. Sometimes when I jog around the neighborhood, I saw these old couple taking an afternoon walk. The wife always wears a hat, perhaps she got cancer? The husband is always right on her side. Sometimes I wonder if that could be me and my husband 30 some years from now.
Forgive and Forget. I never realize how powerful those two can be. I guess only time will tell.
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