Beautiful Stories

Five lessons to make you think about the way we treat people.


1 - First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady.

During my second month of college, our professor
gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student
and had breezed through the questions until I read
the last one:

'What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?'

Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the
cleaning woman several times.. She was tall,
dark-haired and in her 50's, but how would I know her name?

I handed in my paper, leaving the last question
blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if
the last question would count toward our quiz grade.

'Absolutely,' said the professor.. 'In your careers
you will meet many people. All are significant. They
deserve your attention and care, even if all you do
is smile and say 'hello.'

I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her
name was Dorothy.

2. - Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain

One night, at 11:3 0 p.m., an older African American
woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a
lashing rainstorm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a
ride.
Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car.
A young white man stopped to help her, generally
unheard of in those conflict-filled 60s.. The man
took her to safety, helped her get assistance and
put her into a taxicab.

She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his
address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the
man's door.
To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home.
A special note was attached..

It read:
'Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The
rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came
along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's
bedside just before he passed away... God bless you for helping me and
unselfishly serving others.'

Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole.

3 - Third Important Lesson - Always remember those who serve.

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy =
entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass =
of water in front of him.

'How much is an ice cream sundae?' he asked.

'Fifty cents,' replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled is hand out of his pocket and
studied the coins in it.

'Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?' he inquired.

By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing
impatient.

'Thirty-five cents,' she brusquely replied.

The little boy again counted his coins.

'I'll have the plain ice cream,' he said.

The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on
the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice
cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress
came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the
table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish,
were two nickels and five pennies..

You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left
to leave her a tip.


4 - Fourth Important Lesson. - The obstacle in Our Path.

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a
roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if
anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the
king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by
and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping
the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of
the way.=20

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of
vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the
peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the
stone to the side of the road. After much pushing
and straining, he finally succeeded. After the
peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in
the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins
and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who
removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of
us never understand!

Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

5 - Fifth Important Lesson - Giving When it Counts...

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 & 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 had
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 cheek. 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 but he
had chosen to save her anyway.

8 Weeks!

Your Pregnancy: 8 Weeks

www.babycenter.com

It is interesting to know that you are now 20 percent of the way to delivery day!

At about 36 days of development, your baby's ears begin to assume a more human shape. The baby is starting to resemble a newborn. The facial muscles begin to develop, the eyes begin to develop color, the eye muscles begin to form, the eyelids start to develop and the nerve fibers that connect the nose to the brain begin to form. In the heart, the valves are present and distinct. The body's trunk area is getting longer and straightening out. Elbows are present, and arms and legs extend forward. By the end of this week, your baby will be about 1.4-2cm (½ to ¾ in).


Your baby — about the size of a kidney bean — is constantly moving and shifting, though you still can't feel it.

Twilight love obsession

Because I too am a sucker for the Twilight series. They are just so good! What can I say. Stephanie Meyer captured my heart with these books. And I got excited when I saw an upcoming movie trailer for new moon! yay. but i don't think it is the real one. but i just love the songs in it. ahhh. music makes me so happy!

and on another note. a new thing i learned today. do not gulp down water with your dinner while pregnant. otherwise your dinner will end up in the toilet! eww. sorry gross i know.

The latest...

So, even though I thought my mild case of nausea was all I would experience, I was very very wrong. I woke up bright and early to make Dave's lunch this morning. Unfortunately the kitchen smelled like last night's dinner; next thing I know I am bee-lining it for the bathroom. And then I decided to try and clean out the smells of last night's dinner. Bad idea. Round two. Two for two. The good thing. I feel amazingly better now. TMI I am sure, but I just thought I would share :)

Our Little Blueberry

• Your pregnancy: 7 weeks
  
  How your baby's growing:The big news this week: Hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs — although they look more like paddles at this point than the tiny, pudgy extremities you're daydreaming about holding and tickling. Technically, your baby is still considered an embryo and has something of a small tail, which is an extension of her tailbone. The tail will disappear within a few weeks, but that's the only thing getting smaller. Your baby has doubled in size since last week and now measures half an inch long, about the size of a blueberry.If you could see inside your womb, you'd spot eyelid folds partially covering her peepers, which already have some color, as well as the tip of her nose and tiny veins beneath parchment-thin skin. Both hemispheres of your baby's brain are growing, and her liver is churning out red blood cells until her bone marrow forms and takes over this role. She also has an appendix and a pancreas, which will eventually produce the hormone insulin to aid in digestion. A loop in your baby's growing intestines is bulging into her umbilical cord, which now has distinct blood vessels to carry oxygen and nutrients to and from her tiny body.Note: Every baby develops a little differently — even in the womb. Our information is designed to give you a general idea of your baby's development.
  How your life's changing:Your uterus has doubled in size in the past five weeks, and eating may feel like a chore — or worse — thanks to morning sickness, which by now may be in full swing. (If you're feeling fine, don't worry — you're lucky!)You may need to pee more than usual, too, thanks to your increasing blood volume and the extra fluid being processed through your kidneys. (By now, you already have about 10 percent more blood than you did before you were pregnant. And by the end of your pregnancy, you'll have 40 to 45 percent more blood running through your veins to meet the demands of your full-term baby.) As your uterus grows, pressure on your bladder will send you to the bathroom as well.About half of the women who feel nauseated during the first trimester will find complete relief by about 14 weeks. For most of the rest, it'll take another month or so for the queasiness to ease up. It's unlikely, though, that the need to pee more than usual will ease up. In fact, research shows that both the frequency and volume of urine tends to increase over the course of pregnancy.

A beautiful prayer I found

I have a maker
He formed my heart
Before even time began
My life was in his hands
I have a Father
He calls me his own
He'll never leave me
No matter where I go
He knows my name
He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls
And hears me when I call