Moms Pumpkin Soup

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and serious disease.

Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness.

The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes, I'll do it if it will save her."

As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheeks. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away?"

Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.

You see understanding and attitude, after all, are everything.

Call Me Crazy, But She Still Makes My Heart Go Pumpity-Pump

After ten years of marriage, I’m still crazy for this woman.

Being with her is my little piece of heaven on earth.

Here’s my proof: So far, I’ve had 508 romantic dates with my wife. (Yes, my wife. What were you thinking? She’s my ex-girlfriend, right?) That’s once per week for almost 10 beautiful years.

And I’ve loved every single one of them.

Our date night is sacred.

Unless it’s an invitation from the President of the Republic, I say no to all invitations and meetings. Our marriage is what it is today because of those precious 508 dates.

Call me corny. Call me deluded. Call me in denial.

But I really love being with her.

By the way, did you know my wife has magical powers?

When I’m with her, she drains my stress away. When I’m going through a rough time, all I have to do is share my problems to her, and instantly, I feel so much better. With her, I’m at home. And I rest.

I believe couples need to connect with each other in a deep way, or they will drift apart and look for attachments elsewhere.

Aside from our weekly dates, I grab special times I call “spontaneous moments of connection”.

Spontaneous Moments Of Connection

Yesterday afternoon, I came home ready to dive into my work. The usual stuff I do: articles to write, talks to prepare, meetings to plan…

But when I came home, I saw this lovely woman sitting on the couch all by herself.

I thought to myself, “Work can wait,” and I grabbed this opportunity to sit beside the greatest girl on the galaxy. It wasn’t planned. But we were able to talk and connect our hearts. Even just for a few minutes.

Life offers us these fantastic times of bonding. I’ve learned not to miss them: Being stuck in traffic with her. Or waiting for the dentist. Or lining up in the grocery. These times don’t have to be boring if you hold hands and talk.

I get to select when, what and where I want to eat.

I still skip rocks on the water and I can play in a mud puddle and not get in trouble.

I can buy all the M&M's I want.

I love to watch my kids enjoy Christmas.

I can have a snack whenever I want, join the YMCA and go on vacations.

I appreciate being happy because I know what it feels like to be unhappy.

I'm glad I am an honest and good person and set an example.

I am glad I am aware of nuclear weapons, prejudice, starving, abused kids, and other bad things--I can work at fixing these things.

I can appreciate the concept of death because I have lived a long time.

I am glad that I know which things are important and which are not.

I know there are more things to life than television.

There are still so many firsts left to get excited about.

I have the power to make people happy.

I still enjoy that walk down the beach.

I enjoy riding my bike with my children and enjoy watching that first tooth come in and come out.

I've accomplished a lot in my life and can appreciate it.

When I'm having a hard day, I appreciate the good days even more.

No, I'd never want to be six years old again.

A little boy was overheard praying: "Lord, if You can't make me a better boy, don't worry about it. I'm having a real good time like I am!"

Johnny had been misbehaving and was sent to his room. After a while he emerged and informed his mother that he had thought it over and then said a prayer. "Fine," said the pleased mother. "If you ask God to help you not misbehave, He will help you." "Oh, I didn't ask Him to help me not misbehave," said Johnny. "I asked Him to help you put up with me."

A woman invited some people to dinner. At the table, she turned to her six-year-old daughter and said, "Would you like to say the blessing?" I wouldn't know what to say," the little girl replied. "Just say what you hear Mommy say, " the mother said. The little girl bowed her head and said, "Dear Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?"

A rabbi said to a precocious six-year-old boy: "So your mother says your
prayers for you each night? Very commendable. What does she say?" The little
boy replied, "Thank God he's in bed!"

A little boy's prayer. "Dear God, please take care of my daddy and my mommy and my sister and my brother and my doggy and me. Oh, please take care of yourself, God. If anything happens to you, we're gonna be in a big mess."

A five-year-old said grace at family dinner one night. "Dear God, thank you for these pancakes." When he concluded, his parents asked him why he thanked God for pancakes when they were having chicken. He smiled and said, "I thought I'd see if He was paying attention tonight."