When I was a kid, my Grandma liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day. On that evening so long ago, she had placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burned biscuits in front of my Granddad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed!
Yet all my Granddad did was reach for his biscuit, smile at my Grandma and ask me how my day was at school. I don’t remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that ugly burned biscuit. He ate every bite of that thing… never made a face nor uttered a word about it!
When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my Grandma apologize to my Granddad for burning the biscuits. And I’ll never forget what he said: “Honey, I love burned biscuits every now and then.”
Later that night, I went to kiss Granddaddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his biscuits burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, “Your Grandma put in a hard day of work today and she’s real tired. And besides – a little burned biscuit never hurt anyone!”
As I’ve grown older, I’ve thought about that many times.
Life is full of imperfect things and imperfect people. I’m not the best at anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like everyone else. But what I’ve learned over the years is that learning to accept each other’s faults, and choosing to celebrate each other’s differences, is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.