Family

MOTHER

By Author Unknown

I appreciate the many prayers

you've whispered during

the worst moments in my life,

and the many hopes for my success

in all that I dreamed of.



I appreciate the kind wishes

that would make me so happy and fulfilled,

and the gentle words of encouragement

that were meant to strengthen my quests.



I appreciate the moments of sorrow

you experienced during my failures,

and the little gestures of kindness

that always made me feel better.



I appreciate your acceptance,

your ability to understand,

and the sincere friendship

that always gave me such security.



I appreciate the wisdom

of all the lessons you taught,

and the meaning behind the words

"unconditional love."



I appreciate all you've done -

every word and gesture.

I know you've been the best there is -

a mother beyond all compare.



For all you've done...

thank you, Mom.

For all that you are...

I love you.

************************



CHILDREN ARE ...

by Meiji Stewart

Amazing, ACKNOWLEDGE THEM.

Believable, TRUST THEM.

Childlike, ALLOW THEM.

Divine, HONOR THEM.

Energetic, NOURISH THEM.

Fallible, EMBRACE THEM.

Gifts, TREASURE THEM.

Here Now, BE WITH THEM.

Innocent, DELIGHT WITH THEM.

Joyful, APPRECIATE THEM.

Kindhearted, LEARN FROM THEM.

Lovable, CHERISH THEM.

Magical, FLY WITH THEM.

Noble, ESTEEM THEM.

Open minded, RESPECT THEM.

Precious, VALUE THEM.

Questioners, ENCOURAGE THEM.

Resourceful, SUPPORT THEM.

Spontaneous, ENJOY THEM.

Talented, BELIEVE IN THEM.

Unique, AFFIRM THEM.

Vulnerable, PROTECT THEM.

Whole, RECOGNIZE THEM.

Xtraspecial, CELEBRATE THEM.

Yearning, NOTICE THEM.

Zany, LAUGH WITH THEM.

****************************



F A M I L Y



By Author Unknown

(Thanks to Mary Jane for contributing)

I ran into a stranger as he passed by,

"Oh excuse me please" was my reply.

He said, "Please excuse me too;

I wasn't watching for you."



We were very polite, this stranger and I.

We went on our way and we said good-bye.

But at home a different story is told,

How we treat our loved ones, young and old.



Later that day, cooking the evening meal,

My son stood beside me very still.

When I turned, I nearly knocked him down.

"Move out of the way," I said with a frown.

He walked away, his little heart broken.

I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.



While I lay awake in bed,

God's still small voice came to me and said,

"While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use,

but the children you love, you seem to abuse.

Go and look on the kitchen floor,

You'll find some flowers there by the door.



Those are the flowers he brought for you.

He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue.

He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise,

you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes."



By this time, I felt very small,

And now my tears began to fall.

I quietly went and knelt by his bed;

"Wake up, little one, wake up," I said.



"Are these the flowers you picked for me?"

He smiled, "I found 'em, out by the tree.

I picked 'em because they're pretty like you.

I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue."



I said, "Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today;

I shouldn't have yelled at you that way."

He said, "Oh, Mom, that's okay.

I love you anyway."



I said, "Son, I love you too,

and I do like the flowers, especially the blue."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~

QUOTES:

"Each day of our lives we make deposits

in the memory banks of our children."

Charles R. Swindoll



"The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children."

Dietrich Bonhoeffer



"Life, love, and laughter -- what priceless gifts to give our children."

Phyllis Dryden



"Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children."

Alex Haley



"Every child is born a genius."

Richard Buckminster Fuller



"In the final analysis it is not what you do for your children but what you have taught them to do for themselves that will make them successful human beings."

Ann Landers



"We must teach our children to dream with their eyes open."

Harry Edwards



"Your children will see what you're all about by what you live rather than what you say."

Wayne Dyer



"Listen to the desires of your children. Encourage them and then give them the autonomy to make their own decision."

Denis Waitley



"If you want your children to improve, let them overhear the nice things you say about them to others."

Haim Ginott



"The best inheritance a parent can give his children is a few minutes of his time each day."

Orlando A. Battista



"Children have more need of models than of critics."

Joseph Joubert



"To understand your parents' love you must raise children yourself."

Chinese Proverb



"If you can't hold children in your arms, please hold them in your heart."

Mother Clara Hale



"I look at my books the way parents look at their children. The fact that one becomes more successful than the others doesn't make me love the less successful one any less."

Alex Haley



"Children need love, especially when they don't deserve it."

Harold Hulbert



"It's always been my feeling that God lends you your children until they're about eighteen years old. If you haven't made your points with them by then, it's too late."

Betty Ford



"If you raise your children to feel that they can accomplish any goal or task they decide upon, you will have succeeded as a parent and you will have given your children the greatest of all blessings."

Brian Tracy



"Children are likely to live up to what you believe in them."

Lady Bird Johnson



"One of the greatest gifts adults can give -- to their offspring and to their society -- is to read to children."

Carl Sagan



"There are two great injustices that can befall a child. One is to punish him for something he didn't do. The other is to let him get away with doing something he knows is wrong."

Robert Gardner



"If I had one wish for my children, it would be that each of them would reach for goals that have meaning for them as individuals."

Lillian Carter



"There's no point in being grown up if you cant be childish sometimes."

Dr. Who



"Stop trying to perfect your child, but keep trying to perfect your relationship with him."

Dr. Henker



"If a man leaves little children behind him, it is as if he did not die."

Moroccan Proverb



"Don't be discouraged if your children reject your advice. Years later they will offer it to their own offspring."

Author Unknown



"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

Martin Luther King, Jr.



"If you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do well matters very much."

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis



"The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence."

Denis Waitley



"You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance."

Franklin P. Jones



"Children, you must remember something. A man without ambition is dead. A man with ambition but no love is dead. A man with ambition and love for his blessings here on earth is ever so alive."

Pearl Bailey



"The most important seed I can sow in this life is my children, and the love and knowledge that I can bestow upon them and the help I can give them."

Steven Seagal



"when you finally fly away, I'll be hoping that I served you well, for all the wisdom of a lifetime no one can ever tell"

from the song "Forever Young", sung by Rod Stewart



"Being considerate of others will take you and your children further in life than any college or professional degree."

Marian Wright Edelman



"A torn jacket is soon mended; but hard words bruise the heart of a child."

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow



"A mother never realizes that her children are no longer children."

Holbrook Jackson



"Our children are not going to be just "our children" they are going to be other people's husbands and wives and the parents of our grandchildren."

Mary Steichen Calderone



"Life affords no greater responsibility, no greater privilege, than the raising of the next generation."

C. Everett Koop



"Do not confine your children to your own learning, for they were born in another time."

Chinese Proverb



"Too many people grow up. That's the real trouble with the world, too many people grow up. They don't remember what it's like to be 12 years old. They patronize, they treat children as inferiors. Well I won't do that. "

Walt Disney



"Children are natural Zen masters; their world is brand new in each and every moment."

John Bradshaw



"We do not inherit the land from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children."

American Proverb



"There will always be some curve balls in your life. Teach your children to thrive in that adversity."

Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe



"Too often we give children answers to remember rather than problems to solve."

Roger Lewin