| Out of Tricks |
 |
| ~ Welcome to Stories of
Heart! ~ If you are not a subscriber and this has been passed on to you, join us by sending a blank e-mail to four_ears @ msn.com (remove spaces) with "subscribe" in the subject line. And get the love direct! Tour our web site: http://www.geocities.com/jenniferioliver2001 ________________________________________________________ "I think the next best thing to solving a problem is finding some humor in it." - Frank A. Clark ________________________________________________________ Welcome back a lovely family man and wonderful writer, Steve Popoola! I think many of us can all relate to his dilemma... ________________________________________________________ OUT OF TRICKS Whenever I want to write about my family, I find it difficult to write about any other person but my son, Praise. It is not for lack of something to write about other members of the family (comprising of my wife and I). Rather it is because it is so easy to remember the things Praise does because scarcely does a day go by that he does not do something new, something funny, and something to learn from. Now I have a challenge, and I need a solution. When Praise was a baby, I didn't have this challenge. I could go out and come in as I wished. I could dress up, walk to him, kiss his cheeks, and tell him, "Daddy's going to work. Be a good boy, okay?" and walk away, leaving him smiling and jumping excitedly in his mother's arms. All that has changed. One and half years later, it has become a battle. I have used every trick in the book, but it is always the same scenario everyday. Almost all my neighbours now know when I am going to work because Praise will always raise the alarm, blowing it loud as if to tell everyone, "There he goes again!" My wife, Maris, and I have tried all the tricks in our books to fool him, but when it works one day, it fails the next day. One of the things we used to do was to put him in the bath, knowing that he could not climb out, and apart from that he loves to play with water. While he is doing that, I would sneak out of the apartment. This worked for a while until one day, while I was preparing to go out, the curtains leading to the living room parted to reveal the wet and dripping Praise, who had somehow found the courage to climb over the bath, and walked grinning into the living room. He looked up at me as if to say, "See? It didn't work again!" The only time I have some respite is when he is still sleeping when it is time for me to leave for work. I would be silently praying that he should wait until I have left home before waking up. I could do without another announcement to the whole world, "There he goes again!" Steve Popoola steve @ biblepraise.org Copyright © 2002 by Steve Popoola. All rights reserved. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ About the author: Steve Popoola, Editor of Biblepraise Newsletter, was born in London but currently resides in Lagos, Nigeria, with wife Maris and son, Praise. He works in a bank as a network administrator. He serves as Assistant Youth Director and Librarian/Book coordinator in his local Church. He can be reached through email at, [email protected]. You are welcome to the Biblepraise website for inspiring stories articles and poetry. http://www.biblepraise.org. ~ Editor's note: Congratulate Steve on the impending arrival of Praise's little brother or sister! That means more stories are in the works! _________________________________________________________ Folks, here's a special treat for you. For a first-person view of my great-grandmother, Hattie Brush Murray, through the eyes of her granddaughter, Grace Rasmussen, check out her story on our website at http://geocities.com/jenniferioliver2001/. And while you're there, check out Grace's sweet book "Billie-Girl Gets Butterflies" at http://geocities.com/jenniferioliver2001/publications.htm. Happy birthday, Grace! _________________________________________________________ QUOTE FROM LESSER KNOWN FOLKS After the tooth fairy visited our son, David, he woke up to find four quarters under his pillow. "Hey, Mom," he said. "The tooth fairy must've run out of dollar bills!" - Pam Peck _________________________________________________________ FAMILY LOVE MOMENT On the way home from a scouting meeting one night, Ethan sang at the top of his lungs. When he was done, I said, "Wow, Ethan! That was a beautiful song! Did you learn that in school?" "No, I made it up!" he replied happily. "When I saw the moon, I said to myself, 'Boy, what a pretty moon!' So I had to make up a song about the pretty moon!" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Definition of empathy: Madison burst out crying when chastised for being loud, and while she bawled, tears sprang to Cody's eyes. "What's wrong, Cody?" I asked. He turned red and covered his face with his hands. Finally-- "I don't like to see Madison cry," he sniffled. _________________________________________________________ ON THE HOMEFRONT Happy birthday to my handsome nephew, Evan Hadfield, and to my father- in-law, Travis Oliver, who will be 81 years young! We would like to thank everyone for the outpouring of love and support in reaction to the news about putting our beloved dog, Mocha, to sleep last week. Mocha had a limp that we thought was due to a sprain in her back leg from chasing a car or a deer. Much to our shock, she was diagnosed with an aggressive type of cancer and was given less than two months. Seeing her in pain was more than Stephen could bear so he asked the kind vet to put her to sleep. Later when told of the news, Cody began to cry. Matthew didn't understand why Mocha was left behind at the vet's office. Ethan was downcast but perked up at the thought of finding another puppy. "I want a puppy and name it Lizard!" he said. Matthew chimed in. "No, I want a puppy called Frog!" Cody looked up at me with those sorrowful eyes and said, "Mom? I just want to find Mocha's twin." _________________________________________________________ LOVE, JENNIFER I. OLIVER AND FAMILY four_ears @ msn.com "To live that in thy last long sleep, Smiles my be thine wile all around thee weep." - Nellie L. Wallace, June 24, 1873 _________________________________________________________ This E-mail may be forwarded in its entirety, but first ask the writer for permission before forwarding. Thank you for doing the decent thing! Ü ________________________________________________________ SUBMIT STORY, QUOTE, OR FAMILY LOVE MOMENT: http://www.geocities.com/jenniferioliver2001/submission.htm FEEDBACK: four_ears @ msn.com ________________________________________________________ |
Home
| Submission
Guidelines | Archives
| Publications
Freebies | Favorite
Links | About
Us | Family
Album | Contact Us