7 posts tagged “inspirational”

By the time God made woman, he was into his sixth day of working overtime.

An angel appeared and said, "Why are you spending so much time on this one?"

And the God answered, "Have you seen the spec sheet on her?
She has to be completely washable, but not plastic, have over 200 movable parts, all replaceable, run on diet coke and leftovers, have a lap that can hold four children at one time, have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart and have only one pair of hands."

The angel was astounded at the requirements.
"One pair of hands!  No way!
And that's just on the standard model?  
That's too much work for one day.
Wait until tomorrow to finish.

But I can't," the God protested. "I am so close to finishing this creation that is so close to my own heart.
She already heals herself when she is sick AND can work 18 hour days."

The angel moved closer and touched the woman.
"But you have made her so soft, God."

"She is soft," the God agreed, "but I have also made her tough.
You have no idea what she can endure or accomplish."

"Will she be able to think? asked the angel.

The God replied, "Not only will she be able to think, she will be able to reason and negotiate."

The angel then noticed something, and reaching out, touched the woman's cheek. "Oops, it looks like you have a leak in this model.
I told you that you were trying to put too much into this one.

"That's not a leak," the God corrected, "that's a tear!"

"What's the tear for?" the angel asked.

The God said, "The tear is her way of expressing her joy, her sorrow, her pain, her disappointment, her love, her loneliness, her grief and her pride."

The angel was impressed. "You are a genius, God. You thought of everything! Woman is truly amazing."

And she is! Women have strengths that amaze men. They bear hardships and they carry burdens, but they hold happiness, love and joy.

They smile when they want to scream.
They sing when they want to cry.
They cry when they are happy and laugh when they are nervous.
They fight for what they believe in.
They stand up to injustice.
They don't take "no" for an answer when they believe there is a better solution.
They go without so their family can have.
They go to the doctor with a frightened friend.
They love unconditionally.
They cry when their children excel and cheer when their friends get awards.
They are happy when they hear about a birth or a wedding.
Their hearts break when a friend dies.
They grieve at the loss of a family member, yet they are strong when they think there is no strength left.
They know that a hug and a kiss can help to heal a broken heart.
Women come in all sizes, in all colors and shapes.
They'll drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you to show how much they care about you.
The heart of a woman is what makes the world keep turning!
They bring joy and hope.
They have compassion and ideals.
They give moral support to their family and friends.
Women have vital things to say and everything to give.

woman are really amazing in her own way, because if there is only one flaw in woman, it is forgetting about herself 

I grew up in the fifties with a practical parent -- a mother, God love her, who washed aluminum foil after she cooked in  it, then reused it.  She was the original recycle queen, before they had a name for it...

A father who was happier getting old shoes fixed
than buying new  ones.

Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their
best friends  lived barely a wave away. I can see them now, Dad in  trousers, tee shirt and a hat and Mom in a house dress, lawn mower  in one hand, dishtowel in the other.
It was the time for fixing things -- a curtain rod, the kitchen  radio, screen door, the oven door, the hem in a dress. Things we  keep.

It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy.

All that re-fixing, reheating, renewing, I wanted just once to be  wasteful.   Waste meant affluence.
Throwing things away meant you knew there'd always be more.

But then my mother died, and on that clear summer's
night, in the  warmth of the hospital room, I was struck with the  pain of learning  that sometimes there isn't any 'more.'

Sometimes, what we care about most gets all used up
and goes  away...never to return.
So...while we have it...it's best we love it.....and  care for it....and fix it when it's broken.....and heal it  when it's sick.

This is true.....for marriage.....and old  cars.....and children with    bad report cards.....and dogs with bad hips.....and aging parents.....and grandparents.   We keep them because they are worth it, because we  are worth it.

Some other things we keep.

Like a best friend that moved away -- or -- a classmate we grew up with.

There are just some things that make life important,
like people we  know who are special.....and so, we keep them close!

I received this from someone who thinks I am a
'keeper' so I'm posting it here to the people I think of in the same way.
Now  it's your turn to  post this to those people that are "keepers" in your  life.

Good friends are like stars....You don't always see  them, but you know they are always there.

This is a true story, taken from "Family" (dictated by LD,
edited by LSX, translated by SaFe).

this is quite long but worth the read.

"Cruel misunderstandings one after another disrupted the blissful footsteps
to our family. Our original intent of having Mother enjoy some quiet and
peaceful moments in her remaining years with us went terribly wrong as
destiny's secret is finally revealed at a price, every thing became too
late."

Just two years after our marriage, hubby brought up the idea of asking
Mother to move from the rural hometown and spend her remaining years with
us. Hubby's father passed away while he was still very young. Mother
endured much hardship and struggled all on her own to provide for him, see
him through to a university degree. You could say that she suffered a great
deal and did everything you could expect of a woman to bring hubby to where
he is today.

I immediately agreed and started packing the spare room, which has a
balcony facing the South to let her enjoy the sunshine and plant some
greenery. Hubby stood in the bright room, and suddenly just picked me up
and started spinning round and round. As I begged him to put medown, he
said: "Lets go fetch mother." Hubby is tall and big sized and I love to
test on his chest and enjoy the feeling that he could pick me up at any
moment put the tiny me into his pockets. Whenever we have an argument and
both refuses to back down, he would pick me up and spin me over his head
continuously until I surrender and beg for mercy. I became addicted to this
kind of panic-joy feeling.

Mother brought along her countryside habits and lifestyle with her. For
example; I am so used to buying flowers to decorate the living room, she
could not stand it and would comment: "I do not know how you young people
spend your money, why do you buy flowers for? You also can't eat the
flowers!" I smiled and said: "Mum, with flowers in the house, our mood will
also become better." Mother continues to grumble away, and hubby smiled:
"Mum, this is a city-people's habit; slowly you will get use to it."

Mother stopped saying anything. Butevery time thereafter, whenever came
home with flowers, she would ask me how much it costs. I told her and she
would shake her head and express displeasure. Sometimes, when I come home
with lots of shopping bags, she would ask each and every item how much they
cost, I would tell her honestly and she would get even more upset about it.
Hubby playfully pinched my nose and said: "You little fool, just don't tell
her the full price of everything would solve it." There begins the friction
to our otherwise happy lifestyle.

Mother hates it most when hubby wakes up early to prepare the breakfast. In
her view, how could the man of the house cook for the wife? At the
breakfast table, mothers' facial expression is always like the dark clouds
before a thunderstorm and I would pretend not to notice. She would use her
chopsticks and make a lot of noise with it as her silent protest. As I am a
dance teacher in the Children's Palace and is exhausted from along day of
dancing around, I do not wish to give up the luxury of that additional few
minutes in the comfort of my bed and hence I turned a deaf ear to all the
protest mother makes.

From time to time, mother would help out with some housework, but soon her
help created additional work for me. For example: she would keep all kinds
of plastic bags, accumulating them so that she sell them later on,  and
that
resulted in our house being filled with all the trash bags; she would
scrimp on dish washing detergent when helping to wash the dishes and so as
not to hurt her feelings, I would quietly wash them again. One day, late at
night, mother saw me quietly washing the dishes, and "Bam" she slams her
bedroom door and cried very loudly in her room. Hubby was placed in a
difficult position, and after that, he did not speak to me for that entire
night.
I pretended to be a spoild child, tried acting cute, but he totally ignored
me. Igot mad and asked him: "What did I do wrong?" Hubby stared at me and
said: "Can't you just give in to her once? We couldn't possibly die eating
from a bowl however unclean it is, right?"

After that incident, for a long period of time, mother did not speak to me
and you can feel that there is a very awkward feeling hanging in the house.
During that period of cold war, hubby was caught in dilemma as to who to
please. In order to stop her son from having to prepare breakfast, mother
took on the "all important" task of preparing breakfast without any
prompting. At the breakfast table, mother would look at hubby happily
eating his breakfast and cast that reprimanding stare at me for having
failed to perform my duty as a wife. To avoid the embarrassing breakfast
situation, I resorted to buying my own breakfast on my way to work.

That night, while in bed, hubby was a little upset and asked me: "LD, is it
because you think that mum's cooking isnot clean that's why you chose not
to eat at home?" He then turned his back on me and left me alone in tears
as feeling of unfairness overwhelmed me. After some time, hubby sighed:
"LD, just for me, can you have breakfast at home?" I am left with no choice
but to return to the breakfast table.

The next morning, I was having porridge prepared by mother and I felt a
sudden churn in my stomach and everything inside seem to be rushing up my
throat. I tried to suppress the urge to throw up but I couldn't. I threw
down the bowl and rushed into the washroom and vomited everything out. Just
as I was catching my breath, I saw mother crying and grumbling very loudly
in her dialect, hubby was standing at the washroom doorway staring at me
with fire burning in his eyes. I opened my mouth but no words came out of
it, I really didn't mean it. We had our very first big fight that day;
mother took a look at us, then stood up and slowly made her way out ofthe
house.
Hubby gave me a final stare in the eye and followed mother down the stairs.

For three days, hubby did not return home, not even a phone call. I was so
furious, since mother arrived; I had been trying my best and putting up
with her, what else do you want me to do? For no reason, I keep having the
feeling to throw up and I simply have not appetite for food, coupled with
all the events happening at home, I was at then low point in my life.
Finally, a colleague said: "LD, you look terrible, you should go and see a
doctor."

The doctor confirmed that I am pregnant. Now it became clear to me why I
threw up that fateful morning, a sense of sadness floated through that
otherwise happy news.
Why didn't hubby, and mother who had been through this before, thought of
the
possibility of this being the reason that day?

At the hospital entrance, I saw my hubby standing there. It had only been
three days, but he lookedhaggard. I had wanted to turn and leave, but one
look at him and my heart soften, I couldn't resist and called out to him.
He followed my voice and finally found me but he pretended
that he doesn't know me; he has that disgusted look in his eyes that cut
right through my heart.

I told myself not to look at him anymore, and hail a cab. At that moment, I
have such a strong urge inside me to shout to my hubby:
"Darling, I am having your baby!" and have him lift me up and spin me
around in circles of joy. What I wanted didn't happen and as I sat in the
cab, my tears started rolling down. Why? Why our love couldn't even
withstand the test of one fight? Back home, I lay on the bed thinking about
my hubby, and the disgusted look in his eyes. I cried and wet the corner of
the blanket.

That night, sound of the drawers opening woke me up. I switched on the
lights and I saw hubby with tears rolling down his face. He was removing
the money. Istared at him in silence; he ignored me, took the bank deposit
book and some money and left the house. Maybe he really
intends to leave me for good. What a rational man, so clear-cut in love and
money matters. I gave a few dried laugh and tears starting streaming down
again.

The next day, I did not go to work. I wanted to clear this out and have a
good talk with hubby. I reached his office and his secretary gave me a
weird look and said: "Mr. Tan's mother had a traffic accident and is now in
the hospital." I stood there in shock. I rushed to the hospital and by the
time I found hubby, mother had already passed away. Hubby did not look at
me, his face was expressionless.

I looked at mother's pale white and thin face and I couldn't control the
tears in my eyes. My god, how could this happen? Throughout the funeral,
hubby didn't say a single word to me, with only the occasional disgusted
stare
at me. I only managed to find out brieffacts about the accident from other
people. That day, after mother left the house, she walked in dazed toward
the bus stop, apparently intending to go back to her old house back in the
countryside. As hubby ran after her, she tried to walk faster and as she
tried to cross the street, a public bus came and hit her...

I finally understood how much hubby must hate me, if I had not thrown up
that morning, if we had not quarreled, if... in his heart, I am indirectly
the killer of his mother. Hubby moved into mother's room and came home
every night with a strong liquor smell on him. And me, I am buried under
the guilt and self pity and could hardly breathe. I wanted to explain to
him, tell him that we are going to have our baby soon, but each time, I saw
the dead look in his eyes, all the words I have at the brink of my mouth
just fell back in. I had rather he hit me real hard or give me a big and
thorough scolding though none of these eventshappening had been my fault
at all.

Many days of suffocating silence went by and as the days went by, hubby
came home later and later. The deadlock between us continues, we were
living together like strangers who don't know each other. I am like the
dead knot in his heart.

One day, I passed by a western restaurant, looking into the glass  window,
I saw hubby and a girl sitting facing each other and he very lightly
brushed her hair for her, I understood what it meant. After recovering from
that moment of shock, I entered the restaurant, stood in front of my hubby
and stared hard at him, not a tear in my eyes. I have nothing to say to
him, and there is no need to say anything.

The girl looked at me, looks at hubby, stands up and wanted to go,  hubby
stretched out his hand and stopped her. He stared back at me,  challenging
me. I can only hear my slow heart beat, beating, one by one as if at the
brink of death. Ieventually backed down, if I had stood that any longer, I
will collapse together with the baby inside me.

That night, he did not come home, he had chosen to use that as a way to
indicate to me: Following mother's death so did our love for each other. He
did not come home anymore after that. Sometimes, when I returned home from
work, I can tell that the cupboard had been touched - he had returned to
take some of his stuff.

I no longer wish to call him; the initial desire to explain everything to
him vanished.

I lived alone; I go for my medical checkups alone, my heart breaks again
and again every time I see a guy carefully helping his wife through the
physical examination. My office colleagues hinted to me to consider
aborting the baby, I told them No, I will not. I insisted on having to this
baby, perhaps it is my way of repaying mother for causing her death.

One day, I came home and I saw hubby sitting in the living room.The whole
house was filled with cigarette smoke. On the coffee table, there was this
piece of paper. I know what it is all about without even looking at it.

In the two months plus of living alone, I have gradually learned to find
peace within myself. I looked at him, removed my hat and said: "You wait a
while, I will sign." He looked at me, mixed feelings in his eyes, just like
mine. As I hang up my coat, I keep repeating to myself "You cannot cry, you
cannot cry..." my eyes hurt terribly, but I refused to let tears come out
from there.

After I hung up my coat, hubby's eyes stared fixed at my bulging tummy.  I
smiled, walked over to the coffee table and pulled the paper towards me.
Without even looking at what it says, I signed my name on it and pushed the
paper to him.

"LD, are you pregnant?"

Since mother's accident, this is the first time he spoke to me. I could not
control my tears any further and they fell likeraindrops. I said:

"Yes, but its ok, you can leave now." He did not go, in the dark, we sat,
facing each other.

Hubby slowly moved over me, his tears wet the blanket. In my heart,
everything seems so far away, so far that even if I sprint, I could never
reach them. I cannot remember how many times he repeated "sorry" to me,

I had originally thought that I would forgive him, but now I can't.

In the western restaurant, in front of that girl, that cold look in his
eyes, I will never forget, ever. We have drawn such deep scars in each
other's heart. For me, its unintentional; for him, totally intentional.

I had been waiting for this moment of reconciliation, but I realized now,
what had gone past is gone forever and could not repeated.

Other than the thought of the baby inside me that would bring some warmth
to my heart, I am totally cold towards him, I no longer eat anything he
buys for me, I don't take any presents fromhim and I stopped talking to
him.

From the moment I signed on that piece of paper, marriage and love had
vanished from my heart.

Sometimes, hubby will try to come into the bedroom, but when he walks in, I
will walk out to the living room. He had no choice but to sleep in mother's
room. At night, from his room, I can hear light sounds of groaning, I kept
quiet. This used to be his trick; last time, whenever I ignore him, he
would fake illness and I will surrender and find out what is wrong with
him, he would then grab me and laugh. He has forgotten that last time I
cared for him and am concerned because there is love, but now, what is
there between us?

Hubby's groaning came on and off continuing but i continuously ignored him.
Almost everyday, he would buy something for the baby, infant products,
children products and books that kids like to read. Bags and bags of it
stacked inside his room 'till it is full. I know he is tryingto use this
to
reach out to me, but I am no longer moved by his actions. He has no choice
but to lock himself in his room and I can hear his typing away on his
computer keyboard, maybe he is now addicted to web surfing, but none of
that matters to me anymore.

It was sometime towards the end of spring in the following year, one late
night, I screamed because of a sudden stomach pain, hubby came rushing into
the room, its like he did not change and sleep, and had been waiting for
this moment. He carried me and ran down the stairs, stopped a car, holding
my hand very tightly and kept wiping the sweat off my brow, throughout the
journey to the hospital. Once we reached the hospital, he carried me and
hurried into the delivery suite. Lying on the back of his skinny but warmth
body, a thought crossed my mind: In my lifetime, who else would love me as
much as he did?

He held the delivery suite door opened and watch me go in, his warmeyes
caused me to managed a smile at him despite my contraction pain.

Coming out of the delivery room, hubby looked at our son, and me, his eyes
tear with joy and he kept smiling. I reached out and touched his hand.
Hubby looked at me, smiling and then he slowly collapsed onto the floor. I
cried out for him in pain... He smiled, but without opening that tired eyes
of his... I had thought that I would never shed any tear for him, but the
truth is, I have never felt a deeper pain cutting through my body at that
moment.

Doctor said that by the time hubby discovered he had liver cancer, it was
already in terminal stage and it was a miracle that he managed to last this
long. I asked the doctor when did he first discover he had cancer? Doctor
said about 5 months ago and consoled me saying:
"Prepare for his funeral."

I disregarded the nurse's objection and rushed home, I went into his room
and checked his computer, and a suffocatingpain hits me. Hubby's cancer
was discovered 5 months ago, his groaning was real, and I had thought
that... the computer showed over 200 thousand words he wrote for our son:
"Son, just for you, I have persisted, to be able to take a look at you
before I fall, is my biggest wish now... I know that in your life, you will
have many happiness and maybe some setbacks, if only can accompany you
throughout that journey, how nice would it be.  But daddy now no long has
that chance. Daddy has written inside here all the possible difficulties
and problems you may encounter during your lifetime, when you meet with
these problems, you can refer to daddy's suggestion... Son, after writing
these 200 thousand words, I feel as if I have accompanied you through your
life journey. To be honest, daddy is very happy. Do love your mother, she
has suffered, she is the one who loves you most and also the one who loves
me most..."

From play school toprimary school, to secondary, university, to work and
even in dealing with questions of love, everything big and small was
written there.

Hubby has also written a letter for me:

"My dear, to marry you is my biggest happiness, forgive me for the pain I
have caused you, forgive me for not telling you my illness, because I want
to see you be in a joyful mood waiting for the arrival of our baby... My
dear, if you cried, it means that you have forgiven me and I would smile,
thank you for loving me... These presents, I'm afraid I cannot give them to
our son personally, could you help me to give some of them to him every
year, the dates on what to give when are all written on the packaging..."

Going back to the hospital, hubby is still in coma. I brought our son over
and place him beside him. I said: "Open your eyes and smile, I want our son
to remember being in the warmth of your arms..."

He struggled to open his eyes and managed aweak smile. Our son still in
his arms was happily waving his tiny hands in the air. I press the button
on the camera and the sound of the shutter rang thought the air as tears
slowly rolled down my face...

A fatal misunderstanding and the person who love me the most in this world
is gone forever.

This was sent to me. It came at a wonderful time in my life and I just wish to share the beauty.
The meaning behind it is however you wish it to be. BLessings to all.

I am so pleased to be able to present it to you now in movie form  at http://www.TheDashMovie.com

It's one of the best I've ever been able to share with you.

1) Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

2) Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older,
their conversational skills will be as important as any other.

3) Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.

4) When you say, "I love you," mean it.

5) When you say, "I'm sorry," look the person in the eye.

6) Be engaged at least six months before you get married.

7) Believe in love at first sight.

8) Never laugh at anyone's dreams.
People who don't have dreams don't have much.

9) Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the
only way to live life completely.

10) In disagreements, fight fairly. Avoid name calling.

11) Don't judge people by their relatives.

12) Talk slowly but think quickly.

13) When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer,
smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?"

14) Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

15) Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.

16) When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

17) Remember the three R's: Respect for self, Respect for
others, and Responsibility for all your actions.

18) Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
When you realize you've made a mistake,
take immediate steps to correct it.

20) Always remember, a true friend is someone who
reaches for your hand and touches your heart.