Zuzu’s Petals

Zuzu’s Petals

“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

I wrote this post a few years ago, but as my girls head back to school after Christmas break, this seems like a good time to repost it.

My favorite movie is It’s a Wonderful Life with James Stewart. I could watch it a thousand times. The character of George Bailey thinks that life has passed him by. And in many ways, it has, but in none of the important ways, in heart and soul and mind.

In a moment of despair, George gets his wish from his guardian angel, Clarence. He gets the chance to see what life in his small town would have been like had he never been born. When he comes to his senses, he prays to God to give him his old life back. His prayer is answered, as he realizes that he really has had a wonderful life, as husband and father, son and brother and friend.

He discovers that his daughter Zuzu’s rose petals are in his pocket. He is thrilled by their presence, as they prove that he is home. George is still facing some tough circumstances, though they are overcome through the generosity and love of his friends and family. He is at last home, safe and sound.

So, I was thinking about all this the other day at my daughters’ volleyball tournament. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a candy wrapper and a hair tie that weren’t mine. And I don’t remember putting these, or the extraordinarily crumpled one dollar bill, into my pocket either.

Dads’ pockets are often the trash receptacle for their kids while at events where no trash can is in sight.

The back seat of my car serves a similar, though grander, purpose, as it often includes hairbrushes, wadded up clothes, random and often solitary shoes or socks. Sometimes, the air is pungent with half-eaten bananas, yogurt, or plates with unidentifiable goo on them.

But I can’t help but think that all these items are my Zuzu’s petals, and that I will miss them terribly when they are gone. They remind me how much I have to be grateful for, and of the love and joy that are in my life.

-Hank