Following the completion of breakfast, Sarah became aware that her husband, Michael, was not appropriately attired for the upcoming community picnic. She frowned and then questioned, “Why aren’t you dressed for the picnic?” she asked.
Michael didn’t look up because he was so involved in reading his newspaper. “Very easy. “I won’t be going.”
Sarah gave a curious arch of her brow as her interest was piqued. “Why on earth not?”
Michael sighed and put the newspaper down before doing so finally. “All right, I’ll give you three fairly solid justifications for why I won’t be there. To begin, the afternoon time slot for the picnic is notorious for being extremely hot. It is simply uncomfortably hot. Second, I have a strong feeling that nobody wants me to be there. I always get strange looks from others, and I can sometimes hear them whispering behind my back. And finally, and perhaps most importantly, I just don’t feel like going!”
When Sarah heard Michael’s justifications, she couldn’t help but have a good laugh. She moved in for a closer look and then replied, “Well, I’ll give you three really strong reasons why you ARE going. To begin, the picnic does not take place in the blazing heat of the day because it is held in a lovely park that provides ample shade and is therefore rather comfortable. Second, I can tell you without a doubt that there are individuals who care about you and want you to be in that position. And finally, you are the one who is responsible for frying burgers, therefore you should get dressed.”
Michael broke into a sheepish grin as soon as he understood his part in the picnic. “All right, all right, you’ve got the victory. I’m going to get dressed and then check to see that the grill is hot enough for those burgers. It’s possible that I’ll even bring an additional batch of my world-famous barbecue sauce.”
Sarah greeted him with a warm grin and a kiss on the cheek. “That’s the right attitude! Now, hurry up and get ready, and I assure you that you are going to have a wonderful time once we are at the picnic.
As Michael got up to change, he couldn’t help but think about how much he appreciated his wife’s ability to persuade him to take part in community events, despite the fact that he was first hesitant to do so. He recognized with a grin that there were times when all it required were three solid reasons to convince someone of something.