In honor of women!

 

In Honor of Women!

They smile when they want to scream.

They sing when they want to cry.

They cry when they are happy and laugh when they are nervous.

They fight for what they believe in.

They stand up for injustice.

They don’t take “no” for an answer when they believe there is a better solution.

They go without new shoes so their children can have them.

They go to the doctor with a frightened friend.

They love unconditionally.

They cry when their children excel and cheer when their friends get awards.

They are happy when they hear about a birth or a new marriage.

Their hearts break when a friend dies.

They have sorrow at the loss of a family member, yet they are strong when they think there is no strength left.

They know that a hug and a kiss can heal a broken heart.

Women come in all sizes, in all colors and shapes.
They’ll drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you to show how much they care about you.

The heart of a woman is what makes the world spin!

Women do more than just give birth.

They bring joy and hope.

They give compassion and ideals.

They give moral support to their family and friends.

Women have a lot to say and a lot to give.

 

      

 

 Pass this along to your women friends, to remind them how amazing they are.               

 

My mom only had one eye (mother’s sacrifice)

My mom only had one eye. I hated her… She was such an embarrassment. She cooked for students and teachers to support the family.

There was this one day during elementary school where my mom came to say hello to me. I was so embarrassed.

How could she do this to me? I ignored her, threw her a hateful look and ran out. The next day at school one of my classmates said, ‘EEEE, your mom only has one eye!’

I wanted to bury myself. I also wanted my mom to just disappear. I confronted her that day and said, ‘ If you’re only gonna make me a laughing stock, why don’t you just die?’

My mom did not respond… I didn’t even stop to think for a second about what I had said, because I was full of anger. I was oblivious to her feelings.

I wanted out of that house, and have nothing to do with her. So I studied real hard, got a chance to go abroad to study.

Then, I got married. I bought a house of my own. I had kids of my own. I was happy with my life, my kids and the comforts. Then one day, my Mother came to visit me. She hadn’t seen me in years and she didn’t even meet her grandchildren.

When she stood by the door, my children laughed at her, and I yelled at her for coming over uninvited. I screamed at her, ‘How dare you come to my house and scare my children!’ GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!!!’
And to this, my mother quietly answered, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry. I may have gotten the wrong address,’ and she disappeared out of sight.

One day, a letter regarding a school reunion came to my house. So I lied to my wife that I was going on a business trip. After the reunion, I went to the old shack just out of curiosity.

My neighbors said that she died. I did not shed a single tear. They handed me a letter that she had wanted me to have.

‘My dearest son,

I think of you all the time. I’m sorry that I came to your house and scared your children.
I was so glad when I heard you were coming for the reunion. But I may not be able to even get out of bed to see you. I’m sorry that I was a constant embarrassment to you when you were growing up.

You see……..when you were very little, you got into an accident, and lost your eye. As a mother, I couldn’t stand watching you having to grow up with one eye. So I gave you mine.
I was so proud of my son who was seeing a whole new world for me, in my place, with that eye.

With all my love to you,

Your mother.’

Love Quotes

 “Love is just a word until someone comes along and gives it meaning.”

 

“Every man is afraid of something. That’s how you know he’s in love with you; when he is afraid of losing you.”

 

“Love is like an earthquake-unpredictable, a little scary, but when the hard part is over you realize how lucky you truly are.”

 

“The love that lasts the longest is the love that is never returned.”
William Somerset Maugham 

 

“For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.”
Judy Garland

 

“One of the hardest things in life is watching the person you love, love someone else.”

 

“If you love somebody, let them go. If they return, they were always yours. If they don’t, they never were.”

 

“Trying to make someone fall in love with you is about as pointless as trying to control who you fall in love with.”

 

“It takes a minute to have a crush on someone, an hour to like someone and a day to love someone – but it takes a lifetime to forget someone.”

 

“Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live.”

 

“To the world you may be just one person, but to one person you may be the world.”

 

“I love you not because of who you are, but because of who I am when I am with you.”

 

“You don’t love someone for their looks, or their clothes, or for their fancy car, but because they sing a song only you can hear.”

 

“It hurts to love someone and not be loved in return, but what is the most painful is to love someone and never find the courage to let the person know how you feel.”

Do you know a good love quote? Please add a comment!

The lost wallet, a great love story!

As I walked home one freezing day, I stumbled on a wallet someone had lost in the street. I picked it up and looked inside to find some identification so I could call the owner. But the wallet contained only three dollars and a crumpled letter that looked as if it had been in there for years.

 

The envelope was worn and the only thing that was legible on it was the return address. I started to open the letter, hoping to find some clue. Then I saw the dateline–1924. The letter had been written almost 60 years ago.

 

It was written in a beautiful feminine handwriting on powder blue stationery with a little flower in the left-hand corner. It was a “Dear John” letter that told the recipient, whose name appeared to be Michael, that the writer could not see him anymore because her mother forbade it. Even so, she wrote that she would always love him.

 

It was signed, Hannah.

 

It was a beautiful letter, but there was no way except for the name Michael, that the owner could be identified. Maybe if I called information, the operator could find a phone listing for the address on the envelope.

 

“Operator,” I began, “this is an unusual request. I’m trying to find the owner of a wallet that I found. Is there anyway you can tell me if there is a phone number for an address that was on an envelope in the wallet?”

 

She suggested I speak with her supervisor, who hesitated for a moment then said, “Well, there is a phone listing at that address, but I can’t give you the number.” She said, as a courtesy, she would call that number, explain my story and would ask them if they wanted her to connect me.

 

I waited a few minutes and then she was back on the line. “I have a party who will speak with you.”

 

I asked the woman on the other end of the line if she knew anyone by the name of Hannah. She gasped, “Oh! We bought this house from a family who had a daughter named Hannah. But that was 30 years ago!”

 

“Would you know where that family could be located now?” I asked.

 

“I remember that Hannah had to place her mother in a nursing home some years ago,” the woman said. “Maybe if you got in touch with them they might be able to track down the daughter.”

 

She gave me the name of the nursing home and I called the number. They told me the old lady had passed away some years ago but they did have a phone number for where they thought the daughter might be living.

 

I thanked them and phoned. The woman who answered explained that Hannah herself was now living in a nursing home.

 

This whole thing was stupid, I thought to myself. Why was I making such a big deal over finding the owner of a wallet that had only three dollars and a letter that was almost 60 years old?

 

Nevertheless, I called the nursing home in which Hannah was supposed to be living and the man who answered the phone told me, “Yes, Hannah is staying with us.”

 

Even though it was already 10 p.m., I asked if I could come by to see her. “Well,” he said hesitatingly, “if you want to take a chance, she might be in the day room watching television.”

 

I thanked him and drove over to the nursing home. The night nurse and a guard greeted me at the door. We went up to the third floor of the large building. In the day room, the nurse introduced me to Hannah.

 

She was a sweet, silver-haired old timer with a warm smile and a twinkle in her eye. I told her about finding the wallet and showed her the letter. The second she saw the powder blue envelope with that little flower on the left, she took a deep breath and said, “Young man, this letter was the last contact I ever had with Michael.”

 

She looked away for a moment deep in thought and then said softly, “I loved him very much. But I was only 16 at the time and my mother felt I was too young. Oh, he was so handsome. He looked like Sean Connery, the actor.”

 

“Yes,” she continued. “Michael Goldstein was a wonderful person. If you should find him, tell him I think of him often. And,” she hesitated for a moment, almost biting her lip, “tell him I still love him. You know,” she said smiling as tears began to well up in her eyes, “I never did marry. I guess no one ever matched up to Michael…”

 

I thanked Hannah and said goodbye. I took the elevator to the first floor and as I stood by the door, the guard there asked, “Was the old lady able to help you?”

 

I told him she had given me a lead. “At least I have a last name. But I think I’ll let it go for a while. I spent almost the whole day trying to find the owner of this wallet.”

 

I had taken out the wallet, which was a simple brown leather case with red lacing on the side. When the guard saw it, he said, “Hey, wait a minute! That’s Mr. Goldstein’s wallet. I’d know it anywhere with that bright red lacing. He’s always losing that wallet. I must have found it in the halls at least three times.”

 

“Who’s Mr. Goldstein?” I asked as my hand began to shake.

 

“He’s one of the oldtimers on the 8th floor. That’s Mike Goldstein’s wallet for sure. He must have lost it on one of his walks.” I thanked the guard and quickly ran back to the nurse’s office. I told her what the guard had said. We went back to the elevator and got on. I prayed that Mr. Goldstein would be up.

 

On the eighth floor, the floor nurse said, “I think he’s still in the day room. He likes to read at night. He’s a darling old man.”

 

We went to the only room that had any lights on and there was a man reading a book. The nurse went over to him and asked if he had lost his wallet. Mr. Goldstein looked up with surprise, put his hand in his back pocket and said, “Oh, it is missing!”

 

“This kind gentleman found a wallet and we wondered if it could be yours?”

 

I handed Mr. Goldstein the wallet and the second he saw it, he smiled with relief and said, “Yes, that’s it! It must have dropped out of my pocket this afternoon. I want to give you a reward.”

 

“No, thank you,” I said. “But I have to tell you something. I read the letter in the hope of finding out who owned the wallet.”

 

The smile on his face suddenly disappeared. “You read that letter?”

 

“Not only did I read it, I think I know where Hannah is.”

 

He suddenly grew pale. “Hannah? You know where she is? How is she? Is she still as pretty as she was? Please, please tell me,” he begged.

 

“She’s fine…just as pretty as when you knew her.” I said softly.

 

The old man smiled with anticipation and asked, “Could you tell me where she is? I want to call her tomorrow.” He grabbed my hand and said, “You know something, Mister? I was so in love with that girl that when that letter came, my life literally ended. I never married. I guess I’ve always loved her.”

 

“Mr. Goldstein,” I said, “Come with me.”

 

We took the elevator down to the third floor. The hallways were darkened and only one or two little night-lights lit our way to the day room where Hannah was sitting alone watching the television. The nurse walked over to her.

 

“Hannah,” she said softly, pointing to Michael, who was waiting with me in the doorway. “Do you know this man?”

 

She adjusted her glasses, looked for a moment, but didn’t say a word. Michael said softly, almost in a whisper, “Hannah, it’s Michael. Do you remember me?”

 

She gasped, “Michael! I don’t believe it! Michael! It’s you! My Michael!” He walked slowly towards her and they embraced. The nurse and I left with tears streaming down our faces.

 

“See,” I said. “See how the Good Lord works! If it’s meant to be, it will be.”

 

About three weeks later I got a call at my office from the nursing home. “Can you break away on Sunday to attend a wedding? Michael and Hannah are going to tie the knot!”

 

It was a beautiful wedding with all the people at the nursing home dressed up to join in the celebration. Hannah wore a light beige dress and looked beautiful. Michael wore a dark blue suit and stood tall. They made me their best man.

 

The hospital gave them their own room and if you ever wanted to see a 76-year-old bride and a 79-year-old groom acting like two teenagers, you had to see this couple.

 

A perfect ending for a love affair that had lasted nearly 60 years.

Author Unknown
“…dateline–1924… 60 years…”: This story was probably written close to 30 years ago.

Ever Feel Awkward About Making or Getting a Request to “Add Friend”?

Every Wednesday is List Day, or Tip Day, or Quiz Day.

I’m in the middle of a very interesting book by Paul Adams, called Grouped.. It’s about how friends and networks work in an online environment.


Adams cites research by Liz Spencer and Ray Pahl (that I’m going to investigate; sounds fascinating) that identifies eight types of relationships, which can be characterized as “weak ties” or “strong ties”:

Weak ties–people we don’t know well, acquaintances:

Associates: don’t know each other well, share a common activity (like a hobby)

Useful contacts: share information and advice (often related to work)

Fun friends: join for fun, don’t provide  emotional support

Favor friends: help each other out in a functional, not emotional way

Helpmates: combine characteristics of fun + favor friends

Strong ties–the people we care about most, our inner circle–most people have fewer than 10 strong ties, and many, fewer than 5

Comforters: helpmates with deeper emotional support

Confidants: share personal information, enjoy each other, can’t always offer practical help

Soulmates: all of the above, the people we’re closest to

We have the deepest, most intimate connection with our strong ties, of course, but it turns out that weak ties are very important sources of information and contacts; because they’re further away from us, they have access to information that we might not already have. If you’re looking for a job, for instance, a weak tie might provide you with fresh contacts, while your strong ties know the same people and opportunities that you already know.

I found it helpful to see these eight categories. We use the word “friend” to cover so many kinds of relationships, but friendships come in different flavors.

Facebook is a place where I sometimes feel awkward about this: I would like to connect in a casual and friendly way with someone, but feel weird calling this relationship “friends.” But I guess it would feel more awkward to say, “Want to be associates? Or”Want to be useful contacts?”

I often hear people argue, “I’d rather have a few true friends than a bunch of superficial friends.” This seems like a false choice to me; I can have many different types of friends, and they all add richness to my life, even if we never make it into the strong-ties categories. On the other hand, it’s clear that some people prefer to have very intense friendships with a few people, and aren’t much interested in getting very close to a larger group, while some people have a bigger range of intensity in their relationships.

Do these categories ring true to you? Can you identify what kinds of “friends” you have? I’ve been thinking a lot about friendship lately.