A Bigger Man

My son is a bigger man, and I’m so proud to tell you why.

In the face of what could have turned into a very ugly situation, my child first removed himself from the situation, called a friend to get an outside view, returned to the situation, and smiling, graced the offenders with the gift of a meal. Who would have thought?

My sons and I were out at a restaurant celebrating my new-found job. Everyone was happy, laughing and smiling. I had not seen my youngest son in some time, as he lives in another state. My oldest has no transportation, so visits are far and few between. I was elated we were all together again, sharing and breaking bread once again as a family.

As we waited on our meal, I ran my fingers through my youngest son’s hair, laughing and joking, so happy we were all together. Shortly, my middle child got up with his cell phone and left the restaurant. We waited for him to return so he could order his food. He seemed to be taking an extraordinary amount of time, so we went ahead and put in our orders with the wait staff.

He returned, bypassed our table and went to the table directly behind ours, where a man and woman were seated. He leaned over to them, spoke quietly to both, picked up their ticket and walked to the waitress and paid the bill. He then returned to the table to join the festivities. I welled up inside, so proud of this boy, struggling in the acting world, and eeking out a living. I asked what that was all about and he smiled and said he’d tell me later. We continued with our party, ate our food, enjoying each other’s company. Not long after, the couple behind us stood up to leave, and passed by my son, thanking him and telling him to blessed. We smiled and responded “Oh, he is!” and they left.

On the ride home from the restaurant, my son unfolded the story. Apparently, as we were sitting there enjoying ourselves, the couple behind us was mocking me, making faces, gestures and the like. You see, I’m white and my children are biracial. I never think about that, they are my children and I’m color-blind.  Apparently, the couple had a serious problem with it, and it became quite apparent to my son. He says he was incensed, and his immediate reaction was to get up and say something, but he didn’t want to spoil the jovial mood, so instead, he got up with his phone, called a trusted friend and asked what he should do.

My son took the higher road….he is a bigger man! He could easily have started a very ugly scene, but chose not to.

How many times in our daily lives are we short-fused with others? Are we quick to lash out at others, expect the worst and act in anger? Anger begets anger. Hate begets hate. Next time you’re in a compromising situation, or feeling the hackles on your neck rise, stop, smile and take the higher road. We can all be happier every day, and doesn’t happiness feel tons better than anger?