While I sat in
the reception area of my doctor's office, a woman rolled an elderly man in a
wheelchair into the room. As she went to the receptionist's desk, the man
sat there, alone and silent. Just as I was thinking I should make small
talk with him, a little boy slipped off his mother's lap and walked over to the
wheelchair. Placing his hand on the man's, he said, I know how you feel.
My Mom makes me ride in the stroller too.
As I was nursing my baby, my cousin's six-year-old daughter, Krissy, came into
the room. Never having seen anyone breast feed before, she was intrigued
and full of all kinds of questions about what I was doing. After mulling
over my answers, she remarked, My mom has some of those, but I don't think she
knows how to use them.
Out bicycling one
day with my eight-year-old granddaughter, Carolyn, I got a little wistful. In
ten years, I said,you'll want to be with your friends and you won't go walking,
biking, and swimming with me like you do now.
Carolyn shrugged. In ten years you'll be too old to do all those things
anyway.
Working as a pediatric nurse, I had the difficult assignment of giving
immunization shots to children. One day, I entered the examining room to
give four-year-old Lizzie her
injection.
No, no, no she screamed.
"Lizzie,
scolded her mother, "that's not polite behavior.
With that, the
girl yelled even louder, No, thank you! No, thank you!"
****
On the way back
from a Cub Scout meeting, my grandson innocently said to my son, Dad, I know
babies come from mommy's tummies, but how do they get there in the first
place? After my son hemmed and hawed awhile, my grandson finally
spoke up in disgust, You don't have to make up something, Dad. Its okay
if you dont know the answer.
*****
Just before I was
deployed to Iraq , I sat my eight-year-old son down and broke the news to
him. Im going to be away for a long time, I told him. Im going to
Iraq.
Why? he
asked. Don't you know theres a war going on over there?
******
Paul Newman
founded the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp for children stricken with cancer, AIDS,
and blood diseases. One afternoon, he and his wife, Joanne Woodward,
stopped by to have lunch with the kids. A counselor at a nearby table,
suspecting the young patients wouldnt know Newman was a famous movie star,
explained, Thats
the man who made this camp possible. Maybe youve seen his picture on this
salad dressing bottle? Blank stares. Well, youve probably
seen his face on his lemonade carton.
An eight-year-old
girl perked up. How long was he missing?
*******
And my personal
favorite Gods Problem Now!!!
His wife's
graveside service was just barely finished, when there was a massive clap of
thunder, followed by a tremendous bolt of lightning, accompanied by even more
thunder rumbling in the distance. The little, old man looked at the
pastor and calmly said, "Well, she’s there."
