Three Inspirational Stories

Well, I haven't shared any inspirational stories or quotations for a while now. I was browsing for them and I found these two I'd love to share with you. If you have time, go read them.

The Best Time of My Life

Kindness

And let me end this post with something that you've probably read in your email via chain mail, but it's still a VERY lovely read for me he he he...

What Does Love Mean?

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A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, "What does love mean?" The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:

"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all even when his hands got arthritis, too. That's Love."
Rebecca - age 8

When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth."
Billy - age 4

"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other."
Karl - age 5

"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French Fries without making them give you any of theirs."
Chrissy - age 6

"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired."
Terri - age 4

"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK."
Danny - age 7

"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss."
Emily - age 8

"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen."
Bobby - age 7

"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate."
Nikka - age 6

"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday."
Noelle - age 7

"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well."
Tommy - age 6

"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore."
Cindy - age 8

"My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night."
Clare - age 6

"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken."
Elaine-age 5

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford."
Chris - age 7

"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day."
Mary Ann - age 4

"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones."
Lauren - age 4

"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you"
Karen - age 7

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross."
Mark - age 6

"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget."
Jessica - age 8

Ruining My Mother-in-Law's Tupperware

Remember about two weeks ago I told you that my mother-in-law gave me a kilo of reindeer meat? Well, she put the meat in a kind of tupperware. It's actually the kind of tupperware that comes with the fridge that she has. So the tupperware can be slid to its allotted slot on the fridge's door. It's more solid than regular tupperware.

Anyway, when I was preparing to cook the meat, I took it out of the freezer and "accidentally" put it on top of a stove that I had just used. Gladly I realized it a second afterward, but the damage was done. At the bottom of that tupperware there was a clear mark of the round burner. Yikes!!! I felt SOOOOOOOO guilty and embarrassed!

I told the incident to Arttu and he laughed when seeing my pitiful face. He said that his mother wouldn't be angry. Well, I had already known that she wouldn't be angry, but that didn't make me feel any better. After all, she's been SO generous and kind to me and all I have to do is take care of everything, but I have failed.

As you all know, last week we didn't go to my in-laws 'coz of Arttu's cousin's birthday party. So only last Saturday we went to my in-laws again. I had dreaded the day. I had practised saying, "Olen pahoillani" (I'm sorry) in my head over and over again just to make sure that I got it right.

On the way to my in-laws, my mother-in-law called. When I asked Arttu what she had said, he just replied, "We'll see." This is actually a typical Finnish attitude, not giving enough information to a question. I thought it was nothing big, so I just sat back and waited for the moment when I could say sorry to my mother-in-law.

About a minute away from my in-laws' house, Arttu turned left to a car park in front of a building (it looked like a house). I was stunned to see so many cars on the car park. Then we went inside the building and my mother-in-law hugged us (making me feel more uneasy 'coz I couldn't possibly tell her then and there about my stupidity). Turned out the building was being used to be a flea market. My mother-in-law introduced me to her friends and neighbour and then told me to look around in case I saw something that fit me. She also helped me picking the smaller sizes for me (there were many big sizes there). I finally chose two shirts and just as I had feared, when Arttu was about to pay, my mother-in-law said, "Minä maksan" (I'll pay). I thanked her right away, naturally, but her generosity only made me feel worse!!! AARRRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!! I couldn't wait to go to my in-laws' house to say sorryyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!

Well, we left first while my mother-in-law stayed there to talk to her friends. I turned to Arttu and said, "Boooooohooooo...now I feel even more guilty!!!!!" He just smiled and told me not to worry.

About 20 minutes after we got to their house, my mother-in-law finally came back home. I took out the Tupperware right away and said those words to her. At first she was confused, but then I made gestures with my hand to show the bottom part of the Tupperware. Then Arttu explained what had happened to her. She said it was okay. She didn't look angry or shocked or anything, but still I felt stuuuuuppiiiiiddd. I was relieved, but I felt so SMALL.

Well, I learnt A LOT about forgiveness and generosity that day. You see, even after that, my mother-in-law still gave me a big piece of FISH (you know that we can't afford buying fish 'coz it's so expensive!!!). And then when she saw me browsing through a clothing catalog, she said something, went inside her room, and came out with a short-sleeved jacket. She told me to try it on and it fit me well (just a bit too big but that should be fine), so she gave it to me. It also had such a warm lining, so it felt so good.

I honestly don't know what else I can do for my mother-in-law. I know she doesn't expect me to repay her, but I just want to do more for her. We'll see what I can come up with. The only thing I've given her is the occasional dessert that I make (sometimes it's not even perfect though usually the taste is fine). I don't know what I have done to deserve all this, but it reminds me about God's love and forgiveness for us. I just can't believe my luck to have such a wonderful mother-in-law.

By the way, this weekend we're gonna spend a night at my in-laws (Saturday-Sunday). The thing is, my mother-in-law's going to go on a weekend trip with some other people (Arttu said that she was involved in some kind of village activities), so she asked us if we would like to spend a night there. I think she might be a bit worried about leaving her husband behind. You see, Arttu's Dad's just been diagnosed with Alzheimer. I don't think it's at a late stage yet, 'coz he seems to be functioning pretty well, but still I notice that sometimes my mother-in-law'd remind him to take his medicine. I LOVE spending time at my in-laws. No TV, no computer, just us, food, warmth, books, and magazines. ;-D I can't wait for Saturday!!! ;-D

OK, now I HAVE to start studying Finnish to prepare for my course tomorrow he he he he he he...