Stories and Poems That Have Touched My Heart

HE'S ONLY A BOY

Please don't curse the boy out there,
He is my son you see.
He's only just a boy you know,
He means a lot to me.

I did not raise my son, dear fan,
for you to call him names.
He may not be a super-star,
It's just a football game.

So please don't curse those boys out there,
They do the best they can.
They never tried to lose a game,
They're boys and you're a man.

The games belongs to them you see,
You are just a guest.
They do not need a fan like you,
They need the very best.

If you have nothing nice to say,
Please leave the boys alone.
And if you have no manners,
Why don't you stay at home?

So, please don't curse those boys out there,
Each one's his parents' son.
Win or lose or tie,
you see To us,
they're NUMBER ONE!

A good reminder for all of us while we are watching
our children play any sport........

ONLY ONE CHILDHOOD

I stopped to watch my little girl
busy playing in her room.
In one hand was a plastic phone;
in the other a toy broom.

I listened as she was speaking
to her make believe little friend
and I'll never forget
the words she said,
even though it was pretend.

She said, "Suzie's in the corner
cuz she's not been very good.
She didn't listen to a word I said
or do the things she should."
as I sat down on the floor.
She said, "I'm all fed up
I just don't know what to do with her anymore?

She whines whenever I have to work
and wants to play games, too;
she never lets me do the things
that I just have to do.

She tries to help me with the dishes,
but her arms just cannot reach
and she doesn't know
how to fold the towels and
I don't have the time to teach.

I have a lot of work to do
and a big house to keep clean.
I don't have the time to sit and play
-- don't you know what I mean?"

And that day I thought a lot about
making some changes in my life;
as I listened to her innocent words
that cut me like a knife.

I hadn't been paying enough attention
to what I hold most dear.
I'd been caught up in responsibilities
that increased throughout the year.

But now my attitude has changed,
because, in my heart, I realize
I've seen the world in a different light
through my little darling's eyes.

So, let the cobwebs have the corners
and the dust-bunnies rule the floor,
I'm not going to worry about
keeping up with them anymore.

I'm going to fill the house with memories
of a child and her mother...

For God grants us
Only One Childhood,
and we will never get another.

KEEP ON SINGING

Like any good Mother, when Karen foundout that another baby
was on the way,she did what she could to
help her 3-year-old son, Michael, prepare
for a new sibling. They found out that the new baby is going to be a
girl, and day after day, night after night,
Michael sings to his sister in Mommy's tummy.

The pregnancy progresses normally for Karen, an active member of the
Panther Creek United Methodist Church in Morristown, Tennessee. Then the
labor pains come. Every five minutes ... every minute. But complications
arise during delivery. Hours of labor. Would a C-section be required?

Finally, Michael's little sister is born. But she is in serious
condition. With siren howling in the night, the ambulance rushes the
infant to the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Mary's Hospital,
Knoxville, Tennessee.

The days inch by. The little girl gets worse. The pediatric specialist
tells the parents, "There is very little hope.  Be prepared for the
worst." Karen and her husband contact a local cemetery about a burial
plot. They have fixed up a special room in their home for the new baby -
now they plan a funeral.

Michael, keeps begging his parents to let him see his sister, "I want to
sing to her," he says.

Week two in intensive care. It looks as if a funeral will come before
the week is over. Michael keeps nagging about singing to his sister, but
kids are never allowed in Intensive Care. But Karen makes up her mind.
She will take Michael whether they like it or not. If he doesn't see his
sister now, he may never see her alive.

She dresses him in an oversized scrub suit and marches him into ICU. He
looks like a walking laundry basket, but the head nurse recognizes him
as a child and bellows, "Get that kid out of here now!
No children are allowed."

The Mother rises up strong in Karen, and the usually mild-mannered lady
glares steel-eyed into the head nurse's face, her lips a firm line. "He
is not leaving until he sings to his sister!"

Karen tows Michael to his sister's bedside. He gazes at the tiny infant
losing the battle to live. And he begins to sing. In the pure hearted
voice of a 3-year-old, Michael sings: "You are my sunshine, my only
sunshine you make me happy when skies are gray..."

Instantly the baby girl responds. The pulse rate becomes calm and
steady.

Keep on singing, Michael. "You never know, dear, how much I love you,
Please don't take my sunshine away..."

The ragged, strained breathing becomes as smooth as a kitten's purr.

Keep on singing, Michael. "The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping, I
dreamed I held you in my arms..."

Michael's little sister relaxes as rest, healing rest, seems to sweep
over her.

Keep on singing, Michael. Tears conquer the face of the bossy head
nurse. Karen glows.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. Please don't, take my sunshine
away."

Funeral plans are scrapped. The next, day-the very next day-the little
girl is well enough to go home! Woman's Day magazine called it  "the
miracle of a brother's song."  The medical staff just called it a
miracle. Karen called it a miracle of God's love!

           Look What I've Learned 

           I've learned -
                  that you cannot make someone love you.
                  All you can do is be someone who can be loved.
                  The rest is up to them.

           I've learned -
                  that no matter how much I care,
                  some people just don't care back.

           I've learned -
                  that it takes years to build up trust,
                  and only seconds to destroy it.

           I've learned -
                  that it's not what you have in your life
                  but who you have in your life that counts.

           I've learned -
                  that you can get by on charm for about fifteen minutes.
                  After that, you'd better know something.

           I've learned -
                  that you shouldn't compare
                  yourself to the best others can do.

           I've learned -
                  that you can do something in an instant
                  that will give you heartache for life.

           I've learned -
                  that it's taking me a long time
                  to become the person I want to be.

           I've learned -
                  that you should always leave loved ones with loving words.
                  It may be the last time you see them.

           I've learned -
                  that you can keep going
                  long after you think you can't.

           I've learned -
                  that we are responsible for what we do,
                  no matter how we feel.

           I've learned -
                  that either you control your attitude
                  or it controls you.

           I've learned -
                  that regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship
                        is at first, the passion fades
                  and there had better be something else to take its place.

           I've learned -
                  that heroes are the people
                  who do what has to be done
                  when it needs to be done,
                  regardless of the consequences.

           I've learned -
                  that money is a lousy way of keeping score.

           I've learned -
                  that my best friend and I can do anything
                  or nothing and have the best time.

           I've learned -
                  that sometimes the people you expect
                  to kick you when you're down
                  will be the ones to help you get back up.

           I've learned -
                  that sometimes when I'm angry
                  I have the right to be angry,
                  but that doesn't give me
                  the right to be cruel.

           I've learned -
                  that true friendship continues to grow,
                  even over the longest distance.
                  Same goes for true love.

           I've learned -
                  that just because someone doesn't love
                  you the way you want them to doesn't
                  mean they don't love you with all they have.

           I've learned -
                  that maturity has more to do with
                  what types of experiences you've had
                  and what you've learned from them
                  and less to do with how many
                  birthdays you've celebrated.

           I've learned -
                  that you should never tell a child
                  their dreams are unlikely or outlandish.
                  Few things are more humiliating, and
                  what a tragedy it would be if they believed it.

           I've learned -
                  that your family won't always be there for you.
                  It may seem funny, but people you aren't related to
                  can take care of you and love you and teach you to
                  trust people again.  Families aren't biological.

           I've learned -
                  that no matter how good a friend is,
                  they're going to hurt you every once in a while
                  and you must forgive them for that.

           I've learned -
                  that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others.
                  Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.

           I've learned -
                  that no matter how bad your heart is broken
                  the world doesn't stop for your grief.

           I've learned -
                  that our background and circumstances
                  may have influenced who we are,
                  but we are responsible for who we become.

           I've learned -
                  that just because two people argue,
                  it doesn't mean they don't love each other
                  And just because they don't argue,
                  it doesn't mean they do.

           I've learned -
                  that we don't have to change friends
                  if we understand that friends change.

           I've learned -
                  that you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret.
                  It could change your life forever.

           I've learned -
                  that two people can look at the exact same thing
                  and see something totally different.

           I've learned -
                  that no matter how you try to protect your children,
                  they will eventually get hurt and you will hurt in the
                  process.

           I've learned -
                  that your life can be changed in a matter of
                  hours by people who don't even know you.

           I've learned -
                  that even when you think you have no more
                  to give, when a friend cries out to you,
                  you will find the strength to help.

           I've learned -
                  that credentials on the wall
                  do not make you a decent human being.

           I've learned -
                  that the people you care most about in life
                  are taken from you too soon.

           I've learned -
                  that it's hard to determine where to draw
                  the line between being nice and not hurting
                  people's feelings and standing up
                  for what you believe

The Paradox of Our Age

We have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways,
but narrower viewpoints; we spend more, but have less; we buy
more, but enjoy it less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences,
but less time; we have more degrees, but less common sense;
more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, but more
problems; more medicine, but less wellness.

We spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get
too angry too quickly, stay up too late, get up too tired,
read too seldom, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.
We talk too much, love too seldom and lie too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; we've
added years to life, not life to years.

We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble
crossing the street to meet the new neighbor.

We've conquered outer space, but not inner space; we've done
larger things, but not better things; we've cleaned up the
air, but polluted the soul; we've split the atom, but not our
prejudice; we write more, but learn less; plan more, but
accomplish less.

We've learned to rush, but not to wait; we have higher
incomes; but lower morals; more food but less appeasement;
more acquaintances, but fewer friends; more effort but less
success.

We build more computers to hold more information, to produce
more copies than ever, but have less communication; we've
become long on quantity, but short on quality.

These are the time of fast foods and slow digestion; tall men
and short character; steep profits, and shallow relationships.

These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare; more
leisure and less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition.

These are days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier
houses, but broken homes.

These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway
morality, one-night stands, and pills that do everything from
cheer, to quiet, to kill.

It is a time when there is much in the show window, and nothing
in the stockroom.

Indeed it's all true.

Think about it...read it again.