One lesson taught to me as a child was IT IS BETTER TO GIVE THAN TO RECEIVE. And to this day it is something that I try to not only live by but to also instill in both of MY CHILDREN!!
If someone's ugly or mean to you then you do not need to make a friend of them. Find someone who appreciates who you really are and make a friend of them. Don't try to be in the "IN" crowd because in time they will only let you down. Find the person who gets picked on or is hidden away in a corner and befriend them. Years down the line, you will realize just how much you mean to them when you are still FRIENDS!!
A few years ago, my son came to me upset because there are children out there that may get nothing for CHRISTMAS. Yet, there are others who always get what they want. Then they are rude because they think they are better than others.
He told me this:
"If a kid would look at their parent and say 'Instead of buying me that NEW GAME< NEW SHOES< NEW ANYTHING, why don't you take it and buy for someone who is in need? Wouldn't that make everyone happier?"
He told us that he did not want anything for Chirstmas that year. (Even though we knew he wanted that NINTENDO DS that every other kid had.)
One day he came up to me with a handful of pennies and nickles that he had found around the house. He was wanting to use it to bring Christmas to someone. When I asked him who?, to my SURPRISE this young man looked at me and replied:
"I want to buy gifts for the grandmothers and grandfathers who are in the nursing home and are sometimes forgotten." ( This touched my heart because I remember when I was younger I also used to go VISITING at the nursing home.) I told him that we would do our best but did not promise him anything. Day in and day out he would bring me one or two pennies or even a dime that he had found.
"Momma, is this enough to buy presents?"
"What kind of present do you have in mind?", I asked.
A kid does not know the price of things nor do they realize how many pennies or nickles are involved in buying things.
"Well, we could buy them a TV or a VCR," came the reply from this young man.
Oh, how my heart ached because my son did not realize the TRUE VALUE of money and that we would not be able to collect enough money to buy everyone in the nursing home a TV or a VCR.
"Bubba," I said, "I am sorry to tell you this but even if we collected pennies and dimes for years, we would not be able to buy this for them. Why not some socks or booties to keep thier feet warm?" I suggested.
"Yeah, that will work," he replied, "and maybe a stuffed animal to brighten their day?"
Day in and day out, my baby kept collecting any change he could find. Two weeks before Christmas, we counted and rolled the change. We had around $22.00 to buy with. Yet, this was not enought to buy what my son was wanting to buy.
I went to the RSVP garage sale building (I called it my ten cent store.) They had stuffed animals out the kazoo. By the nursing home, we needed 30 to 40 gifts for all of their inhabitants to have a gift. So I counted out and found enough stuffed animals and babies for every single person. They only wnated to charge me $4.00 for all of them. But I gave them $10.00 to help with everything (they were a non-profit place that helped our local SENIORS and also provided scholorships for the school.) These people were very generous (since that time the place has been shut down and will be truly missed). We had around $10 to $12 left and my son decided we needed to buy them a few movies for them all to watch.
Once I had bought the animals, I brought them home, washed and dried every single one. I also made sure they had no stains, spots, tears or cuts on them. By the time I was finished with this job, these GIFTS looked almost brand new.
Both of my children were excited because they were going to be able to give gifts to those who are almost always forgotten. You should have seen their faces when my mom had given them a Christmas bag to put all their gifts in. (The bag was big enough that one of my children could fit in it.) They knew all their gifts would fit perfectly.
Christmas Day 2006, was the first year that they brought joy to the nursing home. You should have seen these kids acting like Santa Claus to these unsuspecting SENIOR citizens. Everyone was very excited and their faces were animated.
I AM SO VERY HAPPY THAT BOTH OF MY CHILDREN CAN THINK OF OTHERS AND HOW THEY MIGHT FEEL. I AM VERY PROUD THAT THIS WILL BE THEIR 4TH YEAR OF SANTA CLAUSING AT THE NURSING HOME. MY CHILDREN ARE JUST AS EXCITED NOW AS THEY WERE THE FIRST TIME.
IF OTHER PARENTS COULD ALSO INSTILL THESE VALUES IN THEIR CHILDREN, JUST THINK HOW BETTER WE ALL COULD MAKE THE WORLD.
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