FAMILY 60

A frail old man went to live with his son,
daughter-in-law, and four-year 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 floor.
When he grasped the glass,
milk spilled on the tablecloth.
The son and daughter-in-law became
irritated with the mess.
We must do something about Grandfather,"
said the son.
I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy
eating, and food on the floor.

So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner.
There, Grandfather ate alone while the
rest of the family enjoyed dinner.

Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two,
his food was served in a wooden bowl.
When the family glanced in Grandfather's direction,
sometime he had a tear in
his eye as he sat alone.

Still, the only words the couple had for him were
sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or
spilled food.

The four-year-old watched it all in silence.
One evening before supper,
the father noticed his son
playing with wood scraps on the floor.
He asked the child sweetly,
"What are you making?"

Just as sweetly, the boy responded,
"Oh, I am making a little bowl for
you and Mama to eat your food
when I grow up."
The four-year-old smiled and went back
to work.

The words so struck the parents that they were speechless.
Then tears started to stream down their cheeks.
Though no word was spoken,
both knew what must be done.
That evening the husband took Grandfather's hand
and gently led him back to the family table.

For the remainder of his days he ate
every meal with the family.
And for some reason, neither husband nor
wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was
dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.

On a positive note,
I've learned that, no matter what happens,
how bad it seems today,
life does go on,
and it will be better tomorrow.
I've learned that you can
tell a lot about a person by the way he/she
handles three things:
a rainy day,
lost luggage, and
tangled Christmas tree lights.

I've learned that,
regardless of your relationship with your parents,
you'll miss them when they're
gone from your life.

I've learned that you shouldn't go through life
with a catcher's mitt on both hands.
You need to be able to
throw something back.

But, if you focus on your family, your friends,
the needs of others,
your work and doing the very
best you can,
happiness will find you.

I've learned that whenever I decide something
with an open heart,
I usually make the right decision.

People love that human touch - holding hands,
a warm hug,
or just a friendly pat on the back.

I've learned that it is nice to pass this on to
everyone you care about.
I just did.

People will forget what you said ...
people will forget what you did ...
but people will never forget
how you made them feel.

Thanks to the many sources and the teachers for this knowledge
and wisdom that is helping us on our journey.