100 Ways to Raise Kind, Intelligent Children

(author unknown) 1. Teach them to respect others by showing others respect. 2. Place the same value on being well-mannered and kind as you do on being popular, wealthy, attractive, good at sports, or getting straight A’s. 3. Read to them every night, and take the time to enjoy it. 4. Teach them to have …

The Letter

(author unknown) A letter from an elderly woman from a nursing home. I am 82 years old, I have 4 children, 11 grandchildren, 2 great-grandchildren and a room of 12 square meters. I no longer have a home or expensive things, but I have someone who will clean my room, prepare food and bedding, measure …

What Does Love Mean?

(author unknown) A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, 'What does love mean?' The answers they got were broader, deeper, and more profound than anyone could have ever imagined! 'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore... So my grandfather …

Grandfather’s Table

(author unknown) A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year-old grandson. The old man’s hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together at the table, but the elderly grandfather’s shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the …

The Last Train Car

(author unknown) Every month Martin’s parents took a trip to see Grandma and came home on the same train the next day. One day the child said to his parents: “I'm already grown up. Can I go to my grandma's alone?" After a brief discussion, his parents accepted. They stood with him as he waited …

Grandchildren and Grandparents

(author unknown) 1. I was in the bathroom, putting on my makeup, under the watchful eyes of my young granddaughter, as I'd done many times before. After I applied my lipstick and started to leave, the little one said, "But Grandma, you forgot to kiss the toilet paper good-bye!" I will probably never put lipstick …

The Train

(by Marie Shizuka) At birth we board the train and meet our parents, and we believe they will always travel by our side. As time goes by, other people will board the train, and they will be significant, i.e. our siblings, friends, children, and even the love of your life. However, at some station our …

A Wedding Ring Reminder

(by David Anderson) My wedding ring saved my finger and my wife’s played a part in saving her life. Sometimes when lost in thought, I’ll catch myself absently twisting and turning it round and round. My best friend of 50 years of marriage made it herself. Cast from a simple circle of wax melted away …

The Last Quarter

(author unknown) You know, time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of the passing years. It seems just yesterday that I was young and embarking on my new life. Yet in a way, it seems like eons ago, and I wonder where all the years went. I know that I lived …

Safe at Home

(by David Anderson) The little guy was standing at third base. Seven years old. His fellow teammate at the plate had swung furiously at the first two pitches. And missed. I knelt down on my knees in the third base coaches’ box and leaned out over the chalk line that fairly shouted ‘proceed no further,’ …