A story of Gratitude
A Story of Gratitude
I was out walking in my neighbourhood yesterday when I walked past an old man who lives at the other end of my street. I have seen him there many times before when I have been out walking or driving past, but I never took the time to actually stop and engage him in conversation. In fact, my husband and I have commented on the fact that he is always standing outside his house watching everyone and everything - like he is on guard.
This time I simply said ‘hello’ and he quickly reciprocated with a greeting. It turns out my neighbour had quite a life story to tell.
His name is Wally and he immigrated to Australia in the 1940’s with his wife and small son. He is from the Ukraine and his wife from Russia. After arriving here Wally quickly got a job as a labourer building Warragamba Dam, just outside of Sydney. He then went on to work for the Ford motor company for the majority of his working life on the production line and later as a supervisor. It was very apparent that this old man had worked very hard in his life and had also had his fair share of tragedy.
He told me that his wife of 35 years had died of cancer 12 years ago and that she had been ill with cancer for 14 years prior to that. So ill that he had to do the majority of raising their three children while being the breadwinner and looking after his wife. Amongst all this, Wally had slowly built two houses! One in a south western Sydney suburb and another house, the home he still lives in, in my street in the Blue Mountains.
His story was interesting enough, but it was his immense gratitude to Australia and the life he was able to provide for his children that really struck me. He had a pride in being here, a pride in his contribution to the Australian economy and saw his hard working life as a small payback to a country that offered him such a great life. Even at 85 years old he was happy just to be alive.
I wonder how many of us take our country for granted? or even our lives? The message is that even when things are tough and life seems to be kicking you, there is always something to be grateful for.