A helping hand...

Our neighbor Peter is off to Saudi Arabia this weekend, and my family thought instead of working on our property today, we could go work on his for a few hours...

My fam and I showed up at his house and he was more than grateful for 4 extra sets of hands. We got so much work done in a period of about 4 hours. Cleaning and raking places he said had never been done in the 24 years he has lived there. My mom and I also realized that it is a million times easier to work when you have someone working right there with you. Because we all worked together he can now relax and settle down not having to worry about anything before he goes anywhere.

So... Anytime someone is leaving, on vacation, or just returning, see if there is anything to do to help Make That Change in their life. Grab some friends or family members to help make it a little faster! Even just cooking a few meals for them can be a huge helping hand! And you never know, Maybe someday the favor will be returned to you! I encourage you to go out and try this for yourself. It really feels amazing to know your helping make someone's life a little easier.

I normally don't do this...

I know I haven't written in awhile... My family and I have travelled to Australia and I have been busy settling in... I didn't really know what to write about this time, but my Grandpa sent me an e-mail that I thought I would share with you. It really teaches you not to judge before you really know whats going on in someones life...

CRABBY OLD MAN

When an old man died in the geriatric ward of a nursing home in North Platte , Nebraska , it was believed that he had nothing left of any value ..

Later, when the nurses were going through his meager possessions, They found this poem . Its quality and content so impressed the staff that copies were made and distributed to every nurse in the hospital .

One nurse took her copy to Missouri . The old man's sole bequest to posterity has since appeared in the Christmas edition of the News Magazine of the St. Louis Association for Mental Health A slide presentation has also been made based on his simple, but eloquent, poem.

And this little old man, with nothing left to give to the world, is now the author of this 'anonymous' poem winging across the Internet.


Crabby Old Man

What do you see nurses? .. .. . What do you see?
What are you thinking . . . . . when you're looking at me?
A crabby old man, . ... . .. . . not very wise,
Uncertain of habit .. . . . . . ...with faraway eyes?

Who dribbles his food . . .. . .and makes no reply .
When you say in a loud voice ..'I do wish you'd try!'
Who seems not to notice . . . .the things that you do .
And forever is losing . .. . . . . A sock or shoe?

Who, resisting or not . . . . . lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding . . . .The long day to fill?
Is that what you're thinking?. . Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse . . .you're not looking at me .

I'll tell you who I am . . . . . . As I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding, ... . . . .as I eat at your will.
I'm a small child of Ten .. . . .with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters . . . .. .. . . who love one another.

A young boy of Sixteen . . . . . with wings on his feet
Dreaming that soon now . . . . . a lover he'll meet..
A groom soon at Twenty . . . . .my heart gives a leap.
Remembering, the vows . . . . ..that I promised to keep.
At Twenty-Five, now . .. . . . . . I have young of my own.
Who need me to guide . . . . . .And a secure happy home.
A man of Thirty . . . . .. . . . . My young now grown fast,
Bound to each other . . . . . . . .With ties that should last.

At Forty, my young sons .. . . . have grown and are gone,
But my woman's beside me. . . . to see I don't mourn.
At Fifty, once more, . . . . . . . babies play 'round my knee,
Again, we know children . . . . . My loved one and me.

Dark days are upon me . . . . ... .my wife is now dead.
I look at the future ... . . . . . shudder with dread..
For my young are all rearing . .. young of their own.
And I think of the years . . . . and the love that I've known.

I'm now an old man . .. . . . . . . and nature is cruel.
Tis jest to make old age . .. . . . look like a fool.
The body, it crumbles . . . . . . grace and vigor, depart.
There is now a stone . . . . . . where I once had a heart.

But inside this old carcass . . .. . a young guy still dwells,
And now and again . . . .. . . . . my battered heart swells.
I remember the joys . . . . . . . I remember the pain.
And I'm loving and living. . . . . life over again.

I think of the years, . . . .. . . .all too few gone too fast.
And accept the stark fact . . . that nothing can last.
So open your eyes, people. . . . open and see.
Not a crabby old man. . . . . . . Look closer . . . . see ME!!

Remember this poem when you next meet an older person who you might brush aside without looking at the young soul within . .. . . we will all, one day, be there, too!

PLEASE SHARE THIS POEM
The best and most beautiful things of this world can't be seen or touched. They must be felt by the heart.

Looks can be deceiving...

Our family went to San Francisco a few weeks back for a friends birthday. We went to this super fancy Italian restaurant. To make a long story short, the prices were insane, the food portions were tiny, and they service was horrible. Its amazing how rude people can be to you sometimes... By the time we left half of us were still hungry, while the rest were mad. On the drive home we made a quick stop to go to the bathroom at this restaurant on the corner. It was very welcoming, and we sat down to get a coffee. Turns out the prices we half of what we spent on the same items. Plus it was in a warm friendly environment and all the people were kind and genuine. It just shows you that sometimes the simpler things in life can be the most rewarding.

So the next time you see someone, or go somewhere, makes sure not to judge them until you've gotten a full picture of the situation. You will be surprised at how much looks can be deceiving...

It's amazing...

You know its amazing the things you see sometimes....

Mom and I were sitting in our car in a parking lot yesterday. It was pouring rain, and the wind was strong enough lift someone off the ground like Mary Poppins. We were waiting for a break in the storm to dash into the store, when this lady walked out with a cart, unloaded her groceries into her car and left the cart in the middle of the road. Immediately the wind got a hold of it and the cart almost crashed into a car. The lady ran out of her car and over to the cart pulling it away so it wouldn't hit the car. But then walked away still leaving the cart there in the middle of the road! Meanwhile mom was on the phone, and I was just watching this cart get blown around missing cars. So I jumped out and took the extra 30 seconds to move the cart and put it away. Yes I got soaked in the process, but I saved about 5 people from having dents and scratches on their cars. I was just a little upset that this lady couldn't take the time to put her cart away, even when she saw how it almost hit someones car.

So........ Next time you come out of a store, number 1 please return your cart, or at least put it over a curb so it can't move around, and number 2 when you return your cart, look around for other carts on your way. It may take a couple more minutes of your time but saves hours of someone else's.

Hunger Action Month

My family and I went to Cheesecake Factory for my Dad's birthday this week. When we were there we grabbed a handout on "Hunger Action Month." Here is what the handout says:

"This September is Hunger Action Month. Help us share the spirit of giving by joining our all-restaurant event to support local food banks. Just bring Two Cans of Soup when you dine with us on September 30th, AND we'll donate 10% of your guest check to a local food bank! Looking for other ways to help? Visit TheCheesecakeFactory.com/Share ......"

I encourage all of you to either dine out on September 30th at Cheesecake Factory, or check out the website! Pass this on to your friends to get the word out, and we can Make That Change in the lives around us. Good luck with this one!

Just give me 1 minute please...

I have been vacationing with my family up in Oregon for the past week. We packed our car to the top leaving no room for us to bring some of our homeless "goodie" bags with us.

Well mom and I went grocery shopping a couple of days ago and mom bought some fig newtons for her to snack on. As we were driving out of the grocery store, we saw a homeless man on the side of the road holding up a sign that said: "Anything helps even a smile."

I immediately felt awful for not having one of our bags, but mom told me to stop and she pulled out the fig newtons and called the man over. He was so grateful and said they were his favorite and thanked us so much for them. As he walked away he held up the fig newtons, looked up at the sky and said "Thank you Lord."

Meanwhile the car behind us was so impatient, he couldn't even wait the few extra seconds for us to give this homeless man some of our time. I had stopped all of 45 seconds max...

I heard the song "Hold On" by the Jonas Brothers. Some of the lyrics are...

"One single smile, a helping hand
Its not that hard to be a friend
So don't give up, stand till the end
There's more to life than just to live..."

I was just really upset that the person behind me wasn't patient enough for us to show some love to the ones around us that need it the most. So the next time you see someone, if you don't have anything to give, just smile or stop and say hello. Everyone can use a new friend in life, even if it is for a few seconds...

Next time you see them...

I was at Target today when Mom and I were talking about the ways we can Make That Change in someone else's life...

Mom saw somewhere an outreach where people would make a small "goodie" bag for the homeless. It consisted of soap, a toothbrush, toothpaste, etc.

Well considering we were already in Target, we went to the section of the store where they have travel size containers of all the necessity's. We decided to start with 6 (only because we found a 6 pack of washcloths) and selected a few things for our bags: A washcloth, bar of soap, a small first aid kit, razor, comb, chap stick, toothbrush, toothpaste, and 2 different types of
snacks.

As we were driving out of Target, we saw a homeless man on the side of the road. So we pulled into a parking lot and quickly put one of the bags together, throwing in a couple of dollars as well. We drove past and handed this man a bag... He was so thankful for it, had just lost his house, and was living under one of the nearby trees. He immediately started looking through the bag... It felt really nice to know we were helping someone in just under 5 dollars!

So... I encourage you to make a few bags and keep them in your car. I'm going to make some cards about Make That Change, but for now here is something you can write on a note to stick in the bag:

Make That Change

"Make That Change is about the little things you can do for others that change their lives forever without you even knowing it... It doesn't require money, just help the ones around you and it will have a positive impact on them. Always remember to love your neighbor as yourself."

Ive attached some photos just so you get an idea...