A f f i r m a t i o n s 

1 ~ Most Important Question
During my second month of nursing school, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions until I read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?" Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank.  Before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade. "Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say 'hello'." I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

2 ~ Pickup in the Rain
One night, at 11:30 PM, an African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rain storm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxi cab. She seemed to be in a big hurry! She wrote down his address, thanked him and drove away. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door.  To his surprise, a  giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached.  It read:
"Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes but my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others."
Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole

3 ~ Always remember those who serve.
In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10 year old boyentered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream sundae?" "Fifty cents," replied the waitress. The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied a number of coins in it. "How much is a dish of plain ice cream?" he inquired. Some people were now waiting for a table and the
waitress was a bit impatient. Thirty-five cents," she said brusquely. The little boy again counted the coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream," he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and departed. When the waitress came back, she began wiping down the table and the swallowed hard at what she saw.  There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies - her tip.

4 ~ The Obstacle in Our Path
In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply
walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the big stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. On approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road.  After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. As the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying  in  the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was
for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many others never understand. Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve one's condition.

5 ~ Giving Blood
Many years ago, a volunteer at Stanford Hospital, got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes, I'll do it if it will save Liz."  As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled as  we all did, seeing the color returning to he cheeks. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away?"  Being young, the boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood.  Attitude, after all, is everything.

Instructions for life

1.  Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
2.  Memorize your favorite poem.
3.  Don't believe all you hear.
4.  Don't spend all you have.
5.  Don't sleep all you want.
6.  When you say, "I love you," mean it.
7.  When you say, "I'm sorry," look the person in the eye.
8.  Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
9.  Believe in love at first sight.
10. Never laugh at anyone's dreams.
11. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.
12. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.
13. Don't judge people by their relatives.
14. Talk slowly, but think quick.
15. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?"
16. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
17. Call your mom.
18. Say "God bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.
19. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
20. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others Responsibility for all your actions
21. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
22. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
23. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
24. Marry a spouse you love to talk to.  As you get older, his or her conversational skills will be as important as any other.
25. Spend some time alone.
26. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.
27. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
28. Read more books and watch less TV.
29. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll get to enjoy it a second time.
30. Trust in God but lock your car.
31. A loving atmosphere in your home is so important. Do all you can to create a tranquil harmonious home.
32. In disagreements with loved ones, deal with a current situation. Don't bring up the past.
33. Read between the lines.
34. Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.
35. Be gentle with the earth.
36. Pray. There's immeasurable power in it.
37. Never interrupt when you are being flattered.
38. Mind your own business.
39. Don't trust a person who doesn't close his or her eyes when you kiss them.
40. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.
41. If you make a lot of money, put it to use helping others while you are living. That is wealth's greatest satisfaction.
42. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a stroke of luck.
43. Learn the rules, then break some.
44. Remember that the best relationship is one where your love for each other is greater than your need for each other.
45. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
46. Remember that your character is your destiny.
47. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

12 Things In Life Worth Reading
(thought I would pass them on...)

*It hurts to love someone and not be loved in return, But what is more painful is to love someone and never find the courage to let that  person know how you feel.

*A sad thing in life is when you meet someone who means a lot to you,  only to find out in the end that it was never meant to be and you just have to let go.

*The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch swing with, never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had.

*It's true that we don't know what we've got until we lose it, but it's also true that we don't know what we've been missing until it arrives.

*It takes only a second to make an impression on someone, a minute to get a crush on someone, an hour to like someone, and a day to love someone-- but it takes a lifetime to forget someone.

**Don't go for looks; they can deceive. Don't go for wealth; even that fades away. Go for someone who makes you smile because it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright.**

*Dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go; be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do.

*Always put yourself in the other's shoes. If you feel that it hurts you, it probably hurts the person too.

*A careless word may kindle strife; a cruel word may wreck a life; a timely word may level stress; a loving word may heal and bless.

*The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.

**Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss, ends with a tear.**

*When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when die, you're the one smiling everyone around you is crying.
 

In kindergarten your idea of a good friend was the person who let you have the red crayon when all that was left was the ugly black one.

In first grade your idea of a good friend was the person who went to the bathroom with you and held your hand as you walked through the scary halls.

In second grade your idea of a good friend was the person who helped you stand up to the class bully.

In third grade your idea of a good friend was the person who shared their lunch with you when you forgot yours on the bus.

In fourth grade your idea of a good friend was the person who was willing to switch square dancing partners in gym so you wouldn't have to be stuck do-si-do-ing with Nasty Nick or Smelly Susan.

In fifth grade your idea of a friend was the person who saved a seat on the back of the bus for you.

In sixth grade your idea of a friend was the person who went up to Nick or Susan, your new crush, and asked them to dance with you, so that if they said no you wouldn't have to be embarrassed.

In seventh grade your idea of a friend was the person who let you copy the social studies homework from the night before that you had.

In eighth grade your idea of a good friend was the person who helped you pack up your stuffed animals and old baseball but didn't laugh at you when you finished and broke out into tears.

In ninth grade your idea of a good friend was the person who would go to a party thrown by a senior so you wouldn't wind up being the only freshman there.

In tenth grade your idea of a good friend was the person who changed their schedule so you would have someone to sit with at lunch.

In eleventh grade your idea of a good friend was the person who gave you rides
in their new car, convinced your parents that you shouldn't be grounded, consoled you when you broke up with Nick [or Glenn] or Susan, and found you a date to the prom.

In twelfth grade your idea of a good friend was the person who helped you pick out a college/university, assured you that you would get into that college/university, helped you deal with your parents who were having a hard time adjusting to the idea of letting you go...

At graduation your idea of a good friend was the person who was crying on the inside but managed the biggest smile one could give as they congratulated you.

The summer after twelfth grade your idea of a good friend was the person who helped you clean up the bottles from that party, helped you sneak out of the house when you just couldn't deal with your parents, assured you that now that you and Nick or you and Susan were back together, you could make it through anything, helped you pack up for university and just silently hugged you as you looked through blurry eyes at 18 years of memories you were leaving behind, and finally on those last days of childhood, went out of their way to give you reassurance that you would make it in college as well as you had these past 18 years, and most importantly sent you off to college knowing you were loved.

Now, your idea of a good friend is still the person who gives you the better of the two choices, holds your hand when you're scared, helps you fight off those who try totake advantage of you, thinks of you at times when you are not there, reminds you of what you have forgotten, helps you put the past behind you but understands when you need to hold on to it a little longer, stays with you so that you have confidence, goes out of their way to make time for you, helps you clear up your mistakes, helps you deal with pressure from others, smiles for you when they are sad, helps you become a better person, and most importantly loves you!

Thank you for being a friend. No matter where we go or who we become, never forget who helped us get there.

There's never a wrong time to pick up a phone or send a message telling your friends how much you miss them or how much you love them.

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