Think...Don't Drink...

. I was walking around in a store.
I saw a cashier hand this little boy his
money back saying “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 5 minutes while she went to look around. 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 this Christmas. She was so sure that
Santa Claus would bring it to her.”
 I replied to him that may be Santa Claus will 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. “What if we checked again, just in case you do have enough money?”
 “OK” he said “I hope that I 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 yesterday before I slept for God to make sure I have enough money to buy this
doll so that mommy can 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 came again 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 2 days ago, which mentioned of a drunk man in a truck,
who hit a car, where there was one young lady 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-assisting machine, because the young lady 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 lady
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 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 this little boy had for his mother
and his sister is still, to this day, hard to imagine.

And in a fraction of a second, a drunk driver had taken all this away from him.

 ~ Author Unknown

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. ME and the Boss
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. Re-posted from the blog...

http://morningstoryanddilbert.wordpress.com/2012/12/10/the-doll-and-the-rose/
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carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee…

. carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee…

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You will never look at a cup of coffee

the same way again.

 A young woman went to her mother

and told her about her life and how things

were so hard for her.

She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting
and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose. Her mother took her to
the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came
to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed
ground coffee beans.

She let them sit and boil; without saying a word. In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners.
She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a
bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.

Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me what you see.” “Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied.
 Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft.
The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed
the hard-boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled,
as she tasted its rich aroma the daughter then asked, “What does it mean, mother?”

 Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water.
Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being
subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin
outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its insides
became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the
boiling water, they had changed the water.

 “Which are you?” she asked her daughter.

“When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean? 

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt
and become soft and lose my strength? Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes
with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some
other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am
I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart? Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean
actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot,
it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get
better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest,
do you elevate yourself to another level?

How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

 May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough
sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy. The happiest of people don’t
necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything that comes along
their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can’t go forward
in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

 When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.

 Live your life so at the end, you’re the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

 Author Unknown

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ME and the Boss
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Quote of the Week

Michelle Case

December 3, 2012

Quote of the Week

"After 5 years of sobriety you get your brains back, after 10 you learn how to use them, and after 15 years you realize you never needed them anyway."

What a cord of recognition this struck when I first heard it (at 10 years recovery). I remember the first 5 years, and how I seemed to be in a haze in the beginning. I spent these years learning how to make sense of and deal with my feelings, my life, relationships, etc. Everything was so new to me and my focus was on recovery and learning how to live life on life's terms.

Once I passed this phase, I did feel as if I had my brains back and I began thinking and planning. What career did I want? How about a future with a family? How could I use my new clarity and focus to twist life to suit my needs and wants? If other people had things, why couldn't I get them, too? And off I went trying to arrange life to meet my expectations.

When I get centered and connected to my Higher Power, though, I see clearly and simply and know that my only real purpose is to do God's work and be of service. It doesn't take a lot of brains to do that, instead it takes listening to my heart and doing what I know is right. When I'm "into action" and not "into thinking" things generally turn out for the best. I just hope I don't have to wait 15 years to accept and consistently practice this.

As posted on facebook...

ME and the Boss

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Ocean Grass

December 2, 2012 

the meadow waves
lap at the birch shore line

From my blogger friend : seedbud