JUST A MOM

A woman,  renewing her driver’s license at the County   Clerk ‘s office was asked by the woman recorder to state her occupation. She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself.  ”What I mean  is,” explained the recorder, “do you have a job or are you just a……?”

“Of course I have a job,” snapped the woman.  ”I’m a Mom.”

“We don’t  list ‘Mom’ as an occupation, ‘housewife’ covers it,” said the recorder emphatically.

I forgot all  about her story until one day I found myself in the same situation, this time at our own Town Hall.

The Clerk  was obviously a career woman, poised, efficient and  possessed of a high sounding title like, “Official Interrogator” or “Town Registrar.”

 ”What is your occupation?” she probed.  What made me say it? I do not know.  The words simply popped out.

“I’m a  Research Associate in the field of Child Development and Human Relations.” 

The clerk  paused, ball-point pen frozen in midair and looked up as though she had not heard right. I repeated the title slowly emphasizing the most significant words.

Then I  stared with wonder as my pronouncement was written, in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.

 ”Might I ask,” said the clerk  with new interest, “just what you do in your field?”

Coolly,  without any trace of fluster in my voice, I heard myself  reply, “I have a continuing program of research, (what  mother doesn’t) in the laboratory and in the field, (normally I would have said indoors and out). I’m working  for my Masters, (first the Lord and then the whole family) and already have four credits (all daughters). Of course,  the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities, (any mother care to disagree?) and I often work 14 hours a day, (24 is more like it).

But the job is more challenging than most run-of-the-mill careers and the  rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just money.”
 There was an  increasing note of respect in the clerk’s voice as she completed the form, stood up and personally ushered me to the door.

As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up by  my glamorous new career, I was greeted by my lab assistants — ages 13, 7, and 3. Upstairs I  could hear our new experimental model, (a 6 month old  baby) in the child development program, testing out a new vocal pattern.

I felt I had scored a beat on bureaucracy! And I had  gone on the official records as someone more distinguished and  indispensable to mankind than “just another Mom.”

Motherhood!

THE DOLL AND THE ROSE

I was walking around in the store, when I saw a Cashier hand this little boy some money back.  The boy couldn’t have been more than 5 or 6 years old.  The Cashier said, “I’m sorry, but you don’t have enough money to buy this doll.”

 
Then the little boy turned to the old woman next to him: ”Granny, are you sure I don’t have enough money?” The old lady replied: ”You know that you don’t have enough money to buy this doll, my dear.”

Then she asked him to stay there for just 5 minutes while she went to look a round. She left quickly.  The little boy was still holding the doll in his hand.

Finally, I walked toward him and I asked him who he wished to give this doll to. “It’s the doll that my sister loved most and wanted so much for Christmas. She was sure that Santa Claus would bring it to her.”

I replied to him that maybe Santa Claus would bring it to her after all, and not to worry.

But he replied to me sadly. “No, Santa Claus can’t bring it to her where she is now. I have to give the doll to my mommy so that she can give it to my sister when she goes there.”

His eyes were so sad while saying this. “My Sister has gone to be with God . Daddy says that Mommy is going to see God very soon too, so I thought that she could take the doll with her to give it to my  sister.”

My heart nearly stopped.  The little boy looked up at me and said: “I told daddy to tell mommy not to go yet. I need her to wait until I come back from the mall.”

Then he showed me a very nice photo of him where he was laughing.  He then told me “I want mommy to take my picture with her so she won’t forget me.”

“I love my mommy and I wish she doesn’t have to leave me, but daddy says that she has to go to be with my little sister.”

Then he looked again at the doll with sad eyes, very quietly. I quickly reached for my wallet and said to the boy. “Suppose we check again, just in case you do have enough money for the doll?”
“OK” he said, “I hope I do have enough.” I added some of my money to his without him seeing and we started to count it. There was enough for the doll and even some spare money.

The little boy said: “Thank you God for giving me enough money!”
Then he looked at me and added, “I asked last night before I went to sleep for God to make sure I had enough money to buy this doll, so  that mommy could give It to my sister. He heard me!”

“I also wanted to have enough money to buy a white rose for my mommy, but I didn’t dare to ask God for too much. But He gave me enough to buy the doll and a white rose.”

“My mommy loves white roses.”

A few minutes later, the old lady returned and I left with my basket. I finished my shopping in a totally different state from when I started. I couldn’t get the little boy out of my mind.

Then I remembered a local newspaper article two days ago, which mentioned a drunk man in a truck, who hit a car occupied by a young woman and a little girl.

The little girl died right away, and the mother was left in a critical state. The family had to decide whether to pull the plug on the life-sustaining machine, because the young woman would not be able to recover from the coma.

Was this the family of the little boy?

Two days after this encounter with the little boy, I read in the newspaper that the young woman had passed away.

I couldn’t stop myself as I bought a bunch of white roses and I  went to the funeral home where the body of the young woman was exposed for people to see and make last wishes before her burial.
She was there, in her coffin, holding a beautiful white rose in her hand with the photo of the little boy and the doll placed over her chest.

I left the place, teary-eyed, feeling that my life had been changed forever. The love that the little boy had for his mother and his sister is still, to this day, hard to imagine.

WHO AM I MAKES A DIFFERENCE

A teacher in New York decided to honor each of her seniors in high school by telling them the difference they each made. Using a process developed by Helice Bridges of Del Mar, California, she called each student to the front of the class, one at a time. First she told them how the student made a difference to her and the class. Then she presented each of them with a blue ribbon imprinted with gold letters which read, “Who I Am Makes a Difference.”


 
     Afterwards the teacher decided to do a class project to see what kind of impact recognition would have on a community. She gave each of the students three more ribbons and instructed them to go out and spread this acknowledgment ceremony. Then they were to follow up on the results, see who honored whom and report back to the class in about a week.


     One of the boys in the class went to a junior executive in a nearby company and honored him for helping him with his career planning. He gave him a blue ribbon and put it on his shirt. Then he gave him two extra ribbons, and said, “We’re doing a class project on recognition, and we’d like you to go out, find somebody to honor, give them a blue ribbon, then give them the extra blue ribbon so they can acknowledge a third person to keep this acknowledgment ceremony going. Then please report back to me and tell me what happened.”


     Later that day the junior executive went in to see his boss, who had been noted, by the way, as being kind of a grouchy fellow. He sat his boss down and he told him that he deeply admired him for being a creative genius. The boss seemed very surprised. The junior executive asked him if he would accept the gift of the blue ribbon and would he give him permission to put it on him. His surprised boss said, “Well, sure.” The junior executive took the blue ribbon and placed it right on his boss’s jacket above his heart. As he gave him the last extra ribbon, he said, “Would you do me a favor? Would you take this extra ribbon and pass it on by honoring somebody else? The young boy who first gave me the ribbons is doing a project in school and we want to keep this recognition ceremony going and find out how it affects people.”


     That night the boss came home to his 14-year-old son and sat him down. He said, “The most incredible thing happened to me today. I was in my office and one of the junior executives came in and told me he admired me and gave me a blue ribbon for being a creative genius. Imagine. He thinks I’m a creative genius. Then he put this blue ribbon that says ‘Who I Am Makes A Difference’ on my jacket above my heart. He gave me an extra ribbon and asked me to find somebody else to honor. As I was driving home tonight, I started thinking about whom I would honor with this ribbon and I thought about you. I want to honor you. “My days are really hectic and when I come home I don’t pay a lot of attention to you. Sometimes I scream at you for not getting good enough grades in school and for your bedroom being a mess, but somehow tonight, I just wanted to sit here and, well, just let you know that you do make a difference to me. Besides your mother, you are the most important person in my life. You’re a great kid and I love you!”


     The startled boy started to sob and sob, and he couldn’t stop crying. His whole body shook. He looked up at his father and said through his tears, “I was planning on committing suicide tomorrow, Dad, because I didn’t think you loved me. Now I don’t need to.”

CHANGED LIVES

In 1921, Lewis Lawes became the warden at Sing Sing Prison. No prison was tougher than Sing Sing during that time. But when Warden Lawes retired some 20 years later, that prison had become a humanitarian institution. Those who studied the system said credit for the change belonged to Lawes.But when he was asked about the transformation, here’s what he said, “I owe it all to my wonderful wife, Catherine, who is buried outside the prison walls.”


Catherine Lawes was a young mother with three small children when her husband became the warden. Everybody warned her from the beginning that she should never set foot inside the prison walls, but that didn’t stop Catherine!

When the first prison basketball game was held, she walked into the gym with her three beautiful children and she sat in the stands with the inmates.


Her attitude was: “My husband and I are going to take care of these men and I believe they will take care of me! I don’t have to worry!” She insisted on getting acquainted with them and their records.


She discovered one convicted murderer was blind so she paid him a visit. Holding his hand in hers she said, “Do you read Braille?” “What’s Braille?” he asked. Then she taught him how to read.Years later he would weep in love for her.


Later, Catherine found a deaf-mute in prison. She went to school to learn how to use sign language. Many said that Catherine Lawes was the body of Jesus that came alive again in Sing Sing from 1921 to 1937.


Then, she was killed in a car accident. The next morning Lewis Lawes didn’t come to work, so the acting warden took his place. It seemed almost instantly that the prison knew something was wrong.


The following day, her body was resting in a casket in her home, three-quarters of a mile from the prison. As the acting warden took his early morning walk, he was shocked to see a large crowd of the toughest, hardest-looking criminals gathered like a herd of animals at the main gate. He came closer and noted tears of grief and sadness. He knew how much they loved Catherine.


He turned and faced the men, “All right, men you can go. Just be sure and check in tonight!” Then he opened the gate and a parade of criminals walked, without a guard, the three-quarters of a mile to stand in line to pay their final respects to Catherine Lawes.


And every one of them checked back in. Every one!

NEVER SIN

Once there was a child and mother living in a small house. Mother always wanted her son to live as a god-fearing child. As he started growing up, mother noticed that her child is living in a wrong way by cheating his friends while playing, and abusing them with bad words.

There was a beautiful door which was nicely painted. The child loved that door so much. So one day the mother said to the child that whenever you do a wrong thing then I will hit a nail on the door and the child agreed.

 As he was growing, he started doing sins more and more and so more nails got hit on the door. Now the door was full of nails and lost its beauty.

Each nail represented his sin. One fine day, as he saw the door he realized that he must not sin anymore in his life and went to his  mom and said “Mom, from today I want to live righteous life. Promise me that you will remove all the nails which was hit on the door.” Mother told him “If you are not going to sin any more, then no more nails on a door.”

His mom started removing all the nails on the door at once but still the door looked ugly because of nail holes. The child got so upset at this as because of his own sins, the door had lost its beauty and so he left the home.

At night when he came back to home and saw the door, it was nicely polished with beautiful colours and it got back its beauty. Now the child was so happy as the door became perfect without nails or holes and the mother was so happy for her son.

Jesus Christ was nailed and crucified for our sins on a cross 2000 years back but we people nail him every day by our sins. Please, at least from today let us realize our own sins and avoid them to make Christ free from this pain.

EIGHT-YEAR-OLD EXPLAINS GOD

Written by Danny Dutton, age 8, from Chula Vista, California, for his third grade homework assignment "Explain God".

Read on.....

"One of God's main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the ones that die so there will be enough people to take care of things here on earth. He doesn't make grown-ups, just babies. I think because they are smaller and easier to make. That way, He doesn't have to take up His valuable time teaching them to talk and walk, He can just leave that to mothers and fathers.

God's second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on, since some people, like preachers and things, pray at times besides bedtime. God doesn't have time to listen to the radio or TV on account of this. Since He hears everything, not only prayers, there must be a terrible lot of noise in His ears, unless He has thought of a way to turn it off.

God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere, which keeps Him pretty busy. So you shouldn't go wasting His time by going over your parents' heads asking for something they said you couldn't have.

Atheists are people who don't believe in God. I don't think there are any in Chula Vista. At least there aren't any who come to our church.

Jesus is God's Son. He used to do all the hard work like walking on water and performing miracles and trying to teach the people who didn't want to learn about God. They finally got tired of Him preaching to them and they crucified Him. But He was good and kind like His Father and He told His Father that they didn't know what they were doing and to forgive them and God said OK. His Dad (God) appreciated everything that He had done and all His hard work on earth so He told Him He didn't have to go out on the road anymore. He could stay in heaven. So He did. And now He helps His Dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things which are important for God to take care of and which ones He can take care of Himself without having to bother God. Like a secretary, only more important, of course. You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to hear you because they got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the time.

You should always go to Church on Sunday because it makes God happy, and if there's anybody you want to make happy, it's God. Don't skip church to do something you think will be more fun like going to the beach. This is wrong! And, besides, the sun doesn't come out at the beach until noon anyway.

If you don't believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very lonely, because your parents can't go everywhere with you, like to camp, but God can. It is good to know He's around you when you're scared in the dark or when you can't swim very good and you get thrown into real deep water by big kids. But you shouldn't just always think of what God can do for you. I figure God put me here and He can take me back anytime He pleases. And that's why I believe in God."

GOD'S CHILDREN

Whenever your kids are out of control, you can take comfort from the thought that even God's omnipotence did not extend to God's kids.

After creating heaven and earth, God created Adam & Eve. And the first thing God had to said to them was: "Don't."

"Don't what?" Adam replied.

"Don't eat the forbidden fruit," God said.

"Forbidden fruit? We got forbidden fruit? Hey, Eve,,, we got forbidden fruit!"

"No way!"

"Yes, WAY!"

 "Why can't we eat it?"

"Because I'm your Father and I said so!" said God, wondering why he hadn't stopped after making the elephants.

A few minutes later God saw the kids having an apple break and was angry. "Didn't I tell you not to eat that fruit?" the First Parent asked.

"Un huh," Adam replied.

"Then why did you?"

"I dunno," Eve answered.

"She started it!" Adam said.

"Did Not!"

"Did So!"

"Did NOT!"

Having had it with the two of them, God's punishment was that Adam and Eve should have children of their own. Thus the pattern was set and it has never changed.

But there is a reassurance in this story. If you have persistently and lovingly tried to give them wisdom and they haven't taken it, don't be hard on yourself. If God had trouble handling children, what makes you think it would be a piece of cake for you?

TEACH THE CHILDREN

Just a week before Christmas, I had a visitor. I just finished the household chores for the night and was preparing to go to bed when I heard a noise in the front of the house. 

I opened the door to the front room and, to my surprise, Santa himself stepped out from behind the Christmas tree. He placed a finger over his mouth so I would not cry out.

"What are you doing?" I started to ask. The words choked up in my throat as I saw he had tears in his eyes. His usual jolly manor was gone.

Gone was the eager boisterous soul we all know. He then answered me with a simple statement, "TEACH THE CHILDREN."

I was puzzled; what did he mean?

He anticipated my question, and with one quick movement, brought forth a miniature toy bag from behind the tree. As I stood there bewildered, Santa said, "Teach the children! Teach them the meaning of Christmas. The meaning that children now-a-days have forgotten!"


Santa then reached in his bag and pulled out a FIR TREE and placed it before the mantle. "Teach the children that the pure green color of the stately fir tree remains green all year around, depicting the everlasting hope of mankind. All the needles point heavenward, making it a symbol of man's thoughts toward heaven."

He again reached into his bag and pulled out a brilliant STAR. "Teach the children that the star was the heavenly sign of promises long ago. God promised a savior for the world, and the star was the sign of the fulfillment of that promise."

He then reached in his bag and pulled out a CANDLE. "Teach the children that the candle symbolizes that Christ is the light of the world, and when we see this great light, we are reminded of He who displaced the darkness."

Once again, he reached into his bag and removed a WREATH and placed it on the tree. "Teach the children that the wreath symbolizes the eternal nature of love. Real love never ceases. Love is one continuous round of affection."

He then pulled out from his bag an ornament of HIMSELF. "Teach the children that I, Santa Claus, symbolize the generosity and good will we feel during the month of December."

He reached in again and pulled out a HOLLY LEAF. "Teach the children that the holly plant represents immortality. It represents the Crown of Thorns worn by our Savior. The red holly berries represent the blood shed by Him."

Next, he pulled out a GIFT from the bag and said, "Teach the children that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son... Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift. Teach the children that the Wise Men bowed before the Holy Babe and presented Him with gold, frankincense, and myrrh. We should always give gifts in the same spirit as the Wise Men."

Santa reached in his bag and pulled out a CANDY CANE and hung it on the tree. "Teach the children that the candy cane represents the shepherds crook. The crook on the shepherds staff helps to bring back strayed sheep to the flock. The candy cane is the symbol that we are our brother's keeper."

He reached in again and pulled out an ANGEL. "Teach the children that it was the Angels that heralded in the glorious news of the Savior's birth. The angels sang Glory to God in the Highest and on earth peace, good will toward men."

Suddenly, I heard a soft twinkling sound. From his bag, he pulled out a BELL. "Teach the children that the lost sheep are found by the sound of the bell. It should bring man to the fold. The bell symbolizes guidance and return."

Santa looked back at the tree and was pleased. He looked back at me, and I saw that the twinkle was back in his eyes. He said, "Teach the children the true meaning of Christmas and to not put me in the center, for I am but a humble servant of the One That Is, and I bow down and worship Him, our Lord, our God."

THE INNOCENCE OF A CHILD

We were the only family with children in the restaurant. I sat Erik in a high chair and noticed everyone was quietly eating and talking. Suddenly, Erik squealed with glee and said, "Hi there." He pounded his fat baby hands on the highchair tray. His eyes were wide with excitement and his mouth was bared in a toothless grin. He wriggled and giggled with glee.

I looked around and saw the source of his merriment. It was a man with a tattered rag of a coat, dirty, greasy and worn. His pants were baggy with a zipper at half-mast and his toes poked out of would-be shoes. His shirt was dirty and his hair was uncombed and unwashed. His whiskers were too short to be called a beard and his nose was so varicose it looked like a road map. We were too far from him to smell, but I was sure he smelled. His hands waved and flapped on loose wrists. "Hi there, baby; hi there, big boy. I see ya, buster," the man said to Erik.

My husband and I exchanged looks, "What do we do?" Erik continued to laugh and answer, "Hi, hi there." Everyone in the restaurant noticed and looked at us and then at the man. The old geezer was creating a nuisance with my beautiful baby.

Our meal came and the man began shouting from across the room, "Do ya know patty cake? Do you know peek-a-boo? Hey, look, he knows peek-a-boo." Nobody thought the old man was cute. He was obviously drunk. My husband and I were embarrassed. We ate in silence, all except for Erik, who was running through his repertoire for the admiring skid-row bum, who in turn, reciprocated with his cute comments.

We finally got through the meal and headed for the door. My husband went to pay the check and told me to meet him in the parking lot. The old man sat poised between me and the door. "Lord, just let me out of here before he speaks to me or Erik," I prayed. As I drew closer to the man, I turned my back trying to sidestep him and avoid any air he might be breathing. As I did, Erik leaned over my arm, reaching with both arms in a baby's "pick-me-up" position. Before I could stop him, Erik had propelled himself from my arms to the man's. Suddenly a very old smelly man and a very young baby consummated their love relationship. Erik in an act of total trust, love, and submission laid his tiny head upon the man's ragged shoulder.

The man's eyes closed, and I saw tears hover beneath his lashes. His aged hands full of grime, pain, and hard labor-gently, so gently, cradled my baby's bottom and stroked his back. No two beings have ever loved so deeply for so short a time. I stood awestruck. The old man rocked and cradled Erik in his arms for a moment, and then his eyes opened and set squarely on mine. He said in a firm commanding voice, "You take care of this baby." Somehow I managed, "I will," from a throat that contained a stone. He pried Erik from his chest-unwillingly, longingly, as though he were in pain. I received my baby, and the man said, "God bless you, ma'am, you've given me my Christmas gift."

With Erik in my arms, I ran for the car. My husband was wondering why I was crying and holding Erik so tightly, and why I was saying, "My God, my God, forgive me." I had just witnessed Christ's love shown through the innocence of a tiny child who saw no sin, who made no judgment; a child who saw a soul, and a mother who saw a suit of clothes. I was a Christian who was blind, holding a child who was not. I felt it was God asking "Are you willing to share your son for a moment?" when He shared His for all eternity. The ragged old man, unwittingly, had reminded me, "To enter the Kingdom of God, we must become as little children."

CHILDREN'S INSIGHTS

A father was working in his den on that all-important take-home work when his two small children came in to ask him to play.

"Please, Daddy." they pleaded. "Please play with us." The father felt that he was just too busy, so he opened a magazine on his desk and tore out a picture of map of the world. He took scissors & cut the picture into many small pieces and gave the pieces to his children.

"Put this all back together like a puzzle and when you are finished, I will play with you." The children left the room. The father returned to his work, knowing that he would have plenty of uninterrupted time - he was sure it would take the children a long time to piece together the complicated picture.

In a few short minutes the children returned, the map put back together with all the pieces taped into their correct places.

The father was quite amazed. "How did you ever get the map put back together so quickly?" he asked.

"That was easy," replied the children. "On the back there is a picture of a man. When you put the man together right, the world comes out okay."

"Behold, children are a gift from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward." - Psalms l27:3

CHILDRENS' VIEWS ABOUT LOVE

HOW DO PEOPLE IN LOVE TYPICALLY BEHAVE? 

"When a person gets kissed for the first time, they fall down and they don't get up for at least an hour." 

- Wendy, age 8

CONCERNING WHY LOVE HAPPENS BETWEEN TWO PARTICULAR PEOPLE
"One of the people has freckles and so he finds somebody else who has freckles too." 
- Andrew, age 6

"No one is sure why it happens, but I heard it has something to do with how you smell. That's why perfume and deodorant are so popular." - Mae, age 9

"I think you're supposed to get shot with an arrow or something, but the rest of it isn't supposed to be so painful." - Manuel, age 8

ON WHAT FALLING IN LOVE IS LIKE
"Like an avalanche where you have to run for your life." - John, age 9

"If falling in love is anything like learning how to spell, I don't want to do it. It takes too long." - Glenn, age 7

ON THE ROLE OF BEAUTY AND HANDSOMENESS IN LOVE
"It isn't always just how you look. Look at me. I'm handsome like anything and I haven't got anybody to marry me yet." - Brian, age 7

"Beauty is skin deep. But how rich you are can last a long time." - Christine, age 9

REFLECTIONS ON THE NATURE OF LOVE 
"Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good too." 
- Greg, age 8

HOW DO PEOPLE IN LOVE TYPICALLY BEHAVE? 
"Mooshy ... like puppy dogs ... except puppy dogs don't wag their tails nearly as much." 
- Arnold, age 10

"All of a sudden, the people get movies fever so they can sit together in the dark." 
- Sherm, age 8

CONCERNING WHY LOVERS OFTEN HOLD HANDS 
"They want to make sure their rings don't fall off because they paid good money for them." - Gavin, age 8

"They are just practicing for when they might have to walk down the aisle someday and do the holy matchimony thing." - John, age 9

CONFIDENTIAL OPINIONS ABOUT LOVE
"Yesterday I kissed a girl in a private place ... We were behind a tree." 
- Carey, age 7

"Love will find you, even if you are trying to hide from it. I been trying to hide from it since I was five, but the girls keep finding me." 
- Dave, age 8

"I'm not rushing into being in love. I'm finding fourth grade hard enough." 
- Regina, age 10

THE PERSONAL QUALITIES YOU NEED TO HAVE IN ORDER TO BE A GOOD LOVER 
"One of you should know how to write a check. Because, even if you have tons of love, there is still going to be a lot of bills." - Ava, age 8

SOME SUREFIRE WAYS TO MAKE A PERSON FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU
"Tell them that you own a whole bunch of candy stores." - Del, age 6

"Shake your hips and hope for the best." - Camille, age 9

"One way is to take the girl out to eat. Make sure it's something she likes to eat. French fries usually works for me." - Bart, age 9

HOW CAN YOU TELL IF TWO ADULTS EATING DINNER AT A RESTAURANT ARE IN LOVE? 
"Just see if the man picks up the check. That's how you can tell if he's in love." 
- Bobby, age 9

"Lovers will just be staring at each other and their food will get cold...Other people care more about the food." - Bart, age 9

"Romantic adults usually are all dressed up, so if they are just wearing jeans it might mean they used to go out or they just broke up." - Sarah, age 9

"See if the man has lipstick on his face." - Sandra, age 7

"It's love if they order one of those desserts that are on fire. They like to order those because it's just like how their hearts are --- on fire." - Christine, age 9

HOW WAS KISSING INVENTED? 
"I know one reason that kissing was created. It makes you feel warm all over, and they didn't always have electric heat or fireplaces or even stoves in their houses." - Gina, age 8

HOW A PERSON LEARNS TO KISS
"You can have a big rehearsal with your Barbie and Ken dolls." - Julia, age 7

"It might help to watch soap operas all day." - Carin, age 9

WHEN IS IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE?
"When they're rich." - Pam, age 7

"It's never okay to kiss a boy. They always slobber all over you...That's why I stopped doing it." - Tammy, age 7

"If it's your mother, you can kiss her anytime. But if it's a new person, you have to ask permission." - Roger, age 6

"I look at kissing like this: Kissing is fine if you like it, but it's a free country and nobody should be forced to do it." - John, age 7

HOW TO MAKE LOVE ENDURE 
"Don't forget your wife's name ... That will mess up the love." - Erin, age 8

THE LOVE OF A CHILD

The story goes that some time ago, a man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. 

Money was tight and he became infuriated when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, “This is for you, Daddy.” He was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again when he found the box was empty. He yelled at her, “Don’t you know when you give someone a present, there’s supposed to be something inside it?” The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said, “Oh, Daddy, it’s not empty, I blew kisses into the box. 

All for you, Daddy.” 

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for her forgiveness. The man kept that gold box by his bed for years and whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there. 

In a very real sense, each of us as humans, have been given a gold container filled with unconditional love and kisses from our Children, friends, family or God. There is no more precious possession anyone could hold.

”Friends areAngels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.”