After giving birth to our son, my wife’s vision started to get worse. She was already wearing glasses, but it suddenly got really bad. I couldn’t stand to see her suffering.

So, I took a second job and accepted some online work, as well.

I worked day and night and couldn’t get any proper sleep the whole year. Finally, I saved up enough money for corrective eye surgery.

My wife recently returned from the hospital and she was amazed at how clearly she could see everything.

The past year was tough on me, but I do not regret it one bit, because now I have a healthy son and a happy wife. 

They are the most important people in my life.

What sacrifices are you willing to make so that your spouse can have a better life?

If not today, when?

When police found Fred Barley, 19, living in a tent on the campus of Gordon State College in Barnesville, Georgia, they were prepared to evict him. Then they heard his story.

Barley had ridden six hours from Conyers, Georgia, on his little brother’s bike, carrying all his possessions—a duffel bag, a tent, two gallons of water, and a box of cereal—in order to enroll for his second semester at the school as a biology major. He’d arrived early to look for a job, but no luck.

“I’m like, ‘Man, this is crazy,” Officer Richard Carreker told ABC New York. Moved by Barley’s plight, Carreker and his partner put Barley up at a motel on their own dime. Word spread, and soon people donated clothes, school supplies, funds to cover the rest of his motel stay—he was even given a job at a pizzeria.

And then there was Casey Blaney of Barnesville, who started a GoFundMe page for Barley after spending time with him. “I thought, Geez, this kid just rode a 20-inch little boy’s bike six hours in 100-degree weather. He’s determined,” she wrote on her Facebook page. The fund reached $184,000, all of which is going into an educational trust for Barley.

Godfrey Cuotto, a 21-year-old student in Hamilton, Ontario, was making his way home  on a packed bus.

Robert, whose family later revealed that he has cerebral palsy and is deaf, asked Mr Cuotto to shake his hand.

Initially, Mr. Cuotto feared that he was being pranked, but soon realized Robert “just needed comfort.”

During the 30-minute bus journey the pair shared, Mr. Cuotto obliged as Robert held and kissed his hand, and hugged and leaned against him.

“Sometimes you just have to be selfless and put someone else’s needs above yours,” said Mr. Cuotto.

He said that his mother taught him how to treat others, and said he was “raised by a queen.”

If you have children, please tell them this story. One of the principal responsibilities of parenting is to teach the importance of compassion!

If not today, when?

 

A true story.

A cabbie on the night shift drove to an address.

A little lady in her nineties appeared. She was dressed for the 1940’s.

She told him everyone she had known was dead and she was going to a hospice.

She asked him to drive into Manhattan for memory sake. He turned off his meter.

She showed him an empty warehouse that was a ballroom where she went dancing and an office building where she was an elevator operator.

Afterward, he drove to the hospice.

As he helped her out, he hugged her and she wouldn’t let go.

She thanked him for seeing those joyful memories.

As the hospice door closed, he felt it was the closing of a life.

As he drove around thinking of her, he realized he was born to take her on that cab ride!

 

 

Not much good news these days!

In fact, it’s quite the opposite. So many big issues are in play that it’s almost impossible to get clarity on anything.

Our health is under siege by Covid 19.

Financial security seems to be a long way off with a wobbly economy.

The education of our kids is in a state of flux.

The political direction of our country is uncertain.

So, how can we be hopeful right here and right now?

Send an email to yourself and all your loved ones.

In that email, list every single thing about your life that is a blessing. Ask every recipient to respond with an email listing all of their blessings.

You are better off than 90% of all people living today!

HOPE REQUIRES PERSPECTIVE!

NEVER LOSE PERSPECTIVE!

If not today,when?

For most of us, today will probably be an ordinary day.

But not for everyone!

A family, who lived near us, was the perfect example of success. A handsome and very prosperous husband, a beautiful wife and three great kids.

In addition to his elegant home, he owned and flew his own plane. He often used it for business trips.

One stormy night, while attempting to land, the plane crashed and he was instantly killed.

The following morning, his wife was preparing breakfast for the children and noticed the people driving to work.

She thought, “This is an ordinary day for them, but my life is forever changed.”

We must always be mindful of those family members, friends, neighbors and co-workers who are not having an “ordinary day.”

If not today, when?

Hard to believe but true!

Because of the huge numbers of Covid 19 deaths in the City of New York, people are moving out. They wanted to escape the population density.

That is the sometimes fickle thing about real estate. The old saying about location, location, location is being proven again.

How about the lakefront homeowners living on a lake north of Midland, Michigan? A dam on the southern shore broke and emptied the lake. Lakefront owners no more.

Likewise, those with expensive homes on Lake Michigan have seen their homes decrease in value due to erosion.

Yet, the investment in a home is still one of best you can make. These examples I’ve given are rare exceptions, not the rule.

Most people worldwide will never be able to buy a home in their entire lifetime!

Be grateful!

If not today, when?

Scientists have discovered that there are many more penguins living in Antarctica than first thought. With additional satellite imagery, they found a total of 61 communities of penguins living there.

The scientists are interested in the penguins because climate change is underway and the arctic region is getting warmer.

So, the ability of the penguins to survive global warming may be an indicator as to how  humans can cope with it.

This news item has reminded me that climate change is present and ongoing throughout the earth. Here, in the Great Lakes region, we are seeing significant erosion along Lake Michigan shorelines.

Our biggest opportunity to slow climate change seems to be the reduction of fossil fuels which, at the present time, doesn’t seem to be a priority.

If not today, when?