Something Important I Learned from Debbie Wizig

In this, the second century of my life, I find my mind and curiosity wandering to spaces I have inhabited and the people who shared those spaces.

This evening my thoughts turned to the Wizigs. David and Debbie who shared time and space with me before they shared a last name and came to me via Steven Michael Epstein.

I once brushed my teeth side by side with David Wizig and my friend Carol Lindsey and I believed him to be the very best life had to offer in the category of the male species. One of his best qualities was his praise of Debbie, not then Wizig, and her intelligence.

Debbie was not just intelligent. She was, as is (if her Facebook picture has not been altered) lovely. And, at a young age, wise.

Much of what I know about David and Debbie after our lives no longer converged in the same time and space came to me from Steven Michael Epstein. They graduated from the University of Texas, they emigrated to Israel, they created a daughter named Amira and they came back to Houston.

The last time I saw the Wizigs was with Steven Michael Epstein (who deserves a blog of his own). We went for lunch at the Wizig's home. David was teaching, Debbie's mother was at the house,and Amira had a marvelous collection of Barbie dolls, organized in an old dresser that reminded me of the dresser in my grandmother's room.

I remember that Amira did not want what her mother had fixed to feed the rest of us. I cannot remember if we had tuna fish and Amira wanted macaroni and cheese or if we had something else and Amira wanted tuna fish. I do remember that at some time in our shared time and space, David was a vegetarian.

What I remember about that day is that Debbie fixed Amira something entirely different. Something simple. And when I asked her about it (I was either pregnant or a new mother and curious about all things maternal and nurturing), she replied (something like):

It is just not a big deal. She's happy, she's eating.

I took that lesson with me. Food should never be an issue of power or control. There is always something that is just not a big deal to offer as alternative.

Peace and contentment. A bit more work, but not a big deal.

As an aside, I have always admired the organization of Amira's Barbies and their accessories. . .