Gratitude

Stomping down the stairs, was a young boy excited for Christmas. The boy threw himself down the stairs, giddy with the thoughts of all the gifts he would receive. 

He sprinted across the floor and entered the living room. The living room was a long rectangular room. A tall plastic Christmas tree dominated the center of the room. As the boy ran over to the tree he slowly came to a stop. Standing still in the middle of the room, his eyes scanned the gifts he received. Under the tree laid twenty wrapped gifts. 

“Why are there fewer gifts than last year?” His face contorted in anger. “I want more gifts!” he wailed at the top of his lungs. The stomping of feet could be heard as his parents bolted down the stairs. 

“What’s wrong baby, what happened?” His mom asked with concern, “Whatever is wrong we can fix it!” 

“There are only twenty presents!” the boy exclaimed as he slumped to the floor. 

“Come on now you know we cannot afford to buy more gifts baby–”

“But Jacky gets one hundred presents every Christmas–and, and Jimmy gets fifty big presents every Christmas.” The boy picked himself up just to throw himself back on the ground. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the ceiling. 

“Get up,” the father walked over to the boy and picked him up, “We are going to Little Bobby’s home, his parents have invited us over for a Christmas breakfast.” The family walked over to Little Bobby who lived three houses down. 

Ding-Dong

The door opened almost immediately and a bearded face poked its head out from behind the door. The pair of blue eyes looked the family up and down before a wide grin spread across their face. 

“Welcome in guys!” Mr. Green said smiling. The family walked into the cramped interior of the living room. The room was bare except for an L-shaped couch, a coffee table, and a plastic Christmas tree. Sitting on the carpet of the room was Little Bobby playing with an action figure; a ripped-open box with wrapping paper lay next to him. There were no other presents under the Green families’ tree. Little Bobby still had a smile on his face, playing with the only toy he received and living in the cramped but cozy house the Green Family called home.

Uniqueness

There was a man who lived in a house on the hill. He was tall and handsome. The man who lived in the house on the hill built streets and paved the road. 

There was also a man at the end of the street who was short and ugly. He worked in an office where he sat in a cubicle and worked behind a computer screen all day. 

There was a woman who lived at the edge of the city who was kind and owned many cats. She adopted cats no one wanted and gave them a home to live in. 

There was a boy who had no parents and lived in a tent near a Walmart. He did not have much, but he collected trash and plastic around the city to earn money.

There was a girl who worked in the coffee shop who made black coffee with a shot of expresso for the officer who came in every morning. Every morning she made the officer’s day.

Every human being is unique.

“Do not wait for life to happen, you will run out of time“

Once upon a time in the city of Sparta, a young boy dressed in rags sat on a rock. Simonides was in the forest just outside the city’s walls. He always went to this particular spot in the woods. It was an area where the trees were sparser, and the ground was wetter. The rock he sat on was on the edge of a small pond; the water was clear enough that he could see his reflection staring back at him. Looking back at Simonides wasn’t a poor kid with rags for clothes, it was a man dressed in silk robes with a crown on his head. 

“I want to be him,” the kid repeated to himself. Day and night he sat admiring the man he saw in his reflection. The golden crown the man wore glinted in the sunlight. The unblemished face of the man had no dust caked to his face. The silky robes the man wore told tales of a rich lifestyle. 

When the sun finally set, Simonides dreamed of a full belly and sleeping on a soft bed of straw. When the sun rose, Simonides found his way to his seat at the edge of the pond. Simonides believed that one day the stars would align and he would be blessed into becoming the man he saw in his reflection. Days turned into weeks, and weeks into years, but Simonides still found himself sitting on the rock, gazing at his reflection. 

As an old man, Simonides slept in the same bed and wore the same clothes.

Many Closed Doors

When I was in high school I had so many doors that I could have walked through. 

On the first day of freshman year, I saw the vibrant and striking advertisement for the ASB club. No, I have too much work I thought. I have five classes to stay on top of. How will I have time for ASB? 

Sophomore year I wanted to be a part of something but I was too scared to join the wrestling team. I thought I was too small and too weak to be a part of the team. That door closed as well. 

Junior year. The first year I could go to prom. I felt too scared to ask the girl who caught my attention. Prom came closer and closer but my courage to ask fell further and further. The day came and I went alone. Another door closed. I was too scared to take advantage of these opportunities. The pain of regret is stronger than the pain of rejection. 

Living, but barely alive.

I wanted to eat more for dinner. My stomach still grumbled after downing a slice of pizza and a small cup of chocolate milk. 

“Momma, Timmy is still hungry can he eat a little more?” I mumbled.

“Sorry baby, but this is all we can afford to have tonight,” Momma replied. 

“But I want more I’m still hungry…” Momma placed a hand on the back of my head and leaned towards me. She nestled my head right under her chin and started rubbing my back to comfort me. 

“I am so sorry Timmy,” she replied before giving a small kiss to the top of my head. She picked me up and walked into the other room of our apartment. Momma set me down on the mattress we shared. “Sleepy time! Mommy will go to sleep a little later okay.” She grabbed the sheets and gently laid them over me. Momma leaned over me a whispered, “We have to take what we can get and make the best of it.”