AFVOA Newletters of Year 2002

Page 29 of 84 those who may feel they are being taken for granted. Give the gift of affection… Be free with all those little hugs and kisses and squeezes of the hand. Let these little actions show the love you have inside and that you care. Give the gift of listening… Give this to someone who has something to say. And you must really listen. No interrupting, no daydreaming, no planning your responses. Just listen. Give the gift of laughter… Tell a funny joke, cut out a cartoon, save a clever article to make someone smile. Your gift will say, “I love to laugh with you.” Give the gift of a favour… Help with the dishes, run an errand, do a little something to make someone’s day easier, and do it with a smile. Give the gift of solitude… There are times in everyone’s day when they want nothing better than to be left alone. Be sensitive to those times and give solitude and quiet. Give the gift of a note… It can be as simple as “I Love You” scribbled on a note pad, or as creative as a sonnet on fancy stationery, or as quick as a thought sent through email. Surprise your loved ones with a little note where they will find it, or a smile in their mailbox! Give a free gift to someone every day, and make the world a better place! The Cup of Coffee A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved a new one arose. Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second, she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word. In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me, what do you see?” “Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” her daughter replied. She brought her daughter closer and asked her to feel the carrots. The daughter noted that they were soft. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, the daughter observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked her daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled, as she tasted its rich aroma. Then the daughter asked, “What does it mean, mother?” Her mother explained, “Each of these objects has faced the same adversity – boiling water – but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. They changed the water.” “Which are you?” she asked her daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?”