Once there, looking at the pond, she decidedly and definitely wanted to go fishing. We trudged (well, I'm the old tired one that "trudged"...she seemed more "to glide") back up to the house, grabbed the fishing pole bucket (containing her rod and reel and mine and some tackle) and back to the pond. It was AMAZING. Her line already had artificial bait on it, she walked right down to the water edge and cast that thing out there a good 15 yards or more and begin working it back in. This went on for probably near an hour,...never once asking for assistance. I put a short padded stool behind her, she thanked me without being distracted, and sat on it, keeping her eye on the line.
She finally decided the fish just weren't biting so she reeled it in and stuck the pole back in the bucket and was ready to head for the house. I was amazed, it was like fishing with an adult.
Even though she had been running a low fever that morning, and had a croupy cough from time to time...she kept at full functioning till we got back to the house. I kicked back in my recliner and she promptly found a comfortable spot in my lap and we just rested peacefully for quite awhile before we got visiting so actively about something or another that any chance of sleep was gone.
Then Friday was busy with must-do errands and zap, the time off was gone. I just can't see that time Thursday as "a wasted day"...it was priceless. (Now SHE might have put "went fishing with my dad, a wasted day."...Ha, ya just never know...but as for me, it was a great time).
Some of the greatest moments in life come from giving of our time or self with focus on something someone else needs. I remember one 5-year old boy that understood giving...the story was told by a hospital volunteer....
The volunteer said she got to know a little girl, a patient named Liz, who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother. He had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the disease.
The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. The boy hesitated for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, “Yes, I’ll do it, if it will save her.”
As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, seeing the color returning to her cheeks. Then his face grew pale, and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, “Will I start to die right away?”
Being young, the boy had misunderstood the doctor. He understood it to mean he was going to need to give his sister his blood , (All of it). "Yes, I'll do it, if it will save her".
It seems that "giving" ...whether its our time or even our blood...is a natural part of loving. Its not the "things" we buy and give that make life rich...its the giving, its the love.
The other day after battling thru traffic in Washington DC and Baltimore, and was headed into even more congested New Jersey turnpike...a van pulled up beside me and a smiling pretty faced young lady looked at me and held up a simple typing paper size home made sign that said only "DON'T WORRY, BE HAPPY" ...ahhh, It sure touched my heart, lifted my thoughts from task to smiling. Little things people do...little things I can do....little things you can do.
I'll close out and finish getting ready to go leaving you with just one more example that I read about in somebody else's life....
In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less,
a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and
sat at a table.
A waitress put a glass of water in
front of him."How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked.
"Fifty cents," replied the waitress.
The little boy pulled is hand out of his pocket and
studied the coins in it.
"Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired.
By now other people had come in and were waiting for a table and the
waitress was growing impatient. "Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied.
The little boy again counted his coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream," he said.
The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on
the table and walked away.
The boy finished the ice-cream, paid the cashier and left.
When the waitress had started clearing the table , she picked up the empty dish, and began to cry... There, placed neatly beside the empty dish,
were two nickels and five pennies..
In counting out what he was going to be able to buy himself, he made sure he had enough left to leave the lady a tip.
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3 comments:
Ah man, that gave me happy tears. Thanks Ger-beans. You got the bestest stories!
This little boy must have grown up to be someone I know. I was seeing a Therapist from Austin, TX and he was telling this story about how to interact with others. He said, "One time I was eating at a restaurant and the waitress was real rude and not real attentive". When I left, I left her a $100 bill for a tip. She came running after me and said, "Mister, I think you got this mixed up for a $1 bill". He stated, "No, you were obviously having a rough day and I just wanted to make it a little better". At this she began to sob and he sat down to talk with her. come to find out she had just lost a parent, found out she herself had cancer and was having money problems on top of all this. How wonderful that he looked for the best response to her rudeness and lack of attention. Ever since he told me this, I think of it when we encounter this type service and try to not react in a negative way.
A couple of grandkids went boating with us one summer day and as a special treat, I would let the grandkids drive the boat. they were around 6 and the weather was perfect. It was Mews turn and he was sitting in my lap steering the boat. I noticed that we were making a long lazy turn but I figured that is where the grandson wanted to go so I ignored it. As we made the 2nd turn I noticed that Mew was looking intently at the instrument cluster so I thought he wasn't paying attention. I checked closer and the little tyke had fallen asleep on my lap and seems to have been sleeping for a while. Grammy and I will never forget that precious moment so long ago- yes, never tell your kid that your too busy, time passes to quickly for that grandkid is now 21 and making memories of his own.
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