REFLECTIONS IN HOSPITALITY: ...too good to be sad!

We had this guest, this past Easter…

He was an easy guy. Someone you’d love to hang out with.

Social. Funny. With a thousand tales.

So, one evening he came over at the reception to have a drink and talk.

‘My wife loves sea-food and I want to surprise her.

What do you recommend?’ He asked.

I wasn’t sure if this was an honest question, or the drink speaking.

‘I once went to a funeral of some guy’, he continued.

‘And, while we were all sad and sorrowful, 

The deceased’s wife seemed pretty happy.

When she rose to speak, she smiled broadly at the casket and told us,

“I’m smiling because, even though he has left us,

The memories of what we had together are so beautiful for me to be sad.

We had a great life together. And for me, that’s enough.

I feel that crying will be disrespecting what we had together.

I’ll miss him terribly. 

But he has left me enough fond memories for me not to feel sad.”

He looked at me thoughtfully, and added,

‘I would want my wife and kids to say that about me, at my funeral.’

I looked at him and realized he was speaking from his heart.

‘We all would like that’, I said.

‘That’s why I want to surprise her’, he added.

‘It’s such a lovely thought’, I said.

Later, I caught myself reflecting on this...

If this is how I would like to be remembered,

What I’m doing to make sure that this is indeed so?

*Photo credit: Alexander Popov on Unsplash