One of my most memorable times in childhood occurred at Christmas. It was freezing cold and we had little to eat, wear and certainly no Christmas gifts. Dad had suffered from a near fatal sickness when his appendix burst and he was unable to work, making Christmas even more dire. He nearly died but the very first use of a sulfa drug in our area saved his life.
The good news came when some of the people in our town decided to throw a party for us. It was not the high class group because we had none of them. They bought me a tiny snow suit so I could go out into the weather at age 18 months and attend the party at the local cafe. Two ladies came over to the house and carried Maury and me to the cafe with tenderness and love in my new snow suit. It has been told to me a thousand times that I said, "Me cold" to Jen who was freezing. Jen cussed loudly and laughed because they had me all bundled up in blankets and a snow suit while she was in a light jacket!
We had a big party with some gifts from friends and lots of fun that night. I was too young to really appreciate the sacrifice but my kin retold the story so many times I can still retell it. No matter how sick or poor we are friends can lighten the burden. Are you picking up anybody's burden this year?
My book, Hope and Change for Humpty Dumpty offers guidelines for offering help to needy people. It is important to know the difference between Empathy and Sympathy.
No comments:
Post a Comment