DO MEN REMEMBER ANNIVERSARIES?

A woman awakes during the night to find that her husband was not in their bed.

She puts on her dressing gown and goes downstairs to look for him.

She finds him sitting at the kitchen table with a hot cup of coffee in front of him. He appears to be in deep thought, just staring at the wall.

She watches as he wipes a tear from his eye and takes a sip of his coffee.

'What's the matter, dear?' she whispers as she steps into the room, 'Why are you down here at this time of night?'

The husband looks up from his coffee, 'I am just remembering when we first met 20 years ago and started dating. You were only 16. Do you remember back then?' he says solemnly.

The wife is touched to tears thinking that her husband is so caring, so sensitive.

'Yes, I do' she replies.

The husband pauses. The words were not coming easily.

'Do you remember when your father caught us in the back seat of my car?'

'Yes, I remember!' said the wife, lowering herself into a chair beside him.

The husband continues. 'Do you remember when he shoved the shotgun in my face and said, 'Either you marry my daughter, or I will send you to jail for 20 years?'

'I remember that too' she replies softly.

He wipes another tear from his cheek and says...

'I would have been released today.'

The rich and the poor

One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live

They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family

On their return from their trip, the father asked his son

How was the trip?

It was great, Dad.

Did you see how poor people live? the father asked.

Oh yeah, said the son.

So, tell me, what you learned from the trip? asked the father.

The son answered:

I saw that we have one dog and they had four.

We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end…

…We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.

Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.

We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond

…We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.

We buy our food, but they grow theirs.

We have walls around our property to protect us; they have friends to protect them

The boy's father was speechless

Then his son added,

Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are

Isn't perspective a wonderful thing?

Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have

Appreciate every single thing you have!

Refresh your perspective and appreciation