Oh How True This Can Be!

@pyewacket (43903)
United States
December 8, 2007 1:21am CST
I just got this delightful email from a fellow MyLotter--it's one of those forward thing-a-ma-jigs and I just had to share it with you. I hate to say it, but it can really be true..no?? F A M I L Y I ran into a stranger as he passed by, "Oh excuse me please" was my reply. He said, "Please excuse me too; I wasn't watching for you." We were very polite, this stranger and I. We went on our way and we said goodbye. But at home a different story is told, How we treat our loved ones, young and old. Later that day, cooking the evening meal, My son stood beside me very still. When I turned, I nearly knocked him down. "Move out of the way," I said with a frown. He walked away, his little heart broken. I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken. While I lay awake in bed, God's still small voice came to me and said, "While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use, but the family you love, you seem to abuse. Go and look on the kitchen floor, You'll find some flowers there by the door. Those are the flowers he brought for you. He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue. He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise, you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes." By this time, I felt very small, And now my tears began to fall. I quietly went and knelt by his bed; "Wake up, little one, wake up," I said. "Are these the flowers you picked for me?" He smiled, "I found 'em, out by the tree. I picked 'em because they're pretty like you. I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue." I said, "Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today; I shouldn't have yelled at you that way." He said, "Oh, Mom, that's okay. I love you anyway." I said, "Son, I love you too, and I do like the flowers, especially the blue." FAMILY Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family we left behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than into our own family, an unwise investment indeed, don't you think? So what is behind the story? Do you know what the word FAMILY means? FAMILY = (F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER (I) (L)OVE (Y)OU -------------------- How often are we more polite to strangers than we are with our own family members? Do you ever catch yourself being more "abusive" to family members than to strangers? Something to think about.
12 people like this
20 responses
@lucky_witch (2707)
• Philippines
8 Dec 07
Well yes this might be right. Many times, people are afraid for others to say something bad about them. They are afraid that they may think that we are bad. But when it comes to family, we always expect that they will understand our shortcomings or attitudes towards them. Withoutrealizing our worth in their lives... how they are trying to make us happy... how can we sometimes be so insensitive with the most important people in our life?
5 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
11 Dec 07
I came from a family background that was rather insensitive though..honestly there were times I thought I must have been switched at birth as my personality was so different from my grandmother's and mother's which didn't exactly make for a harmonious relationship
@3lilangels (4639)
• United States
8 Dec 07
well in a way this can be true depending on the person.me well my family is my life so i treat them with with all of the politness i have, and with strangers i am just as nice.but you are right though,there is people that take their families for granted and treat strangers better.i have seen this email before and i just laughed to myselfbecause some people are really like that.take care hon.pattie
5 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
11 Dec 07
Unfortunately I came from a family background that wasn't exactly harmonious :( Glad to hear that you treat your family with politness though and vice versa!
@gabs8513 (48686)
• United Kingdom
8 Dec 07
Yes that is so true I got this ages ago in my Mail and I love it Sweetie please look for an Email from me
4 people like this
@gabs8513 (48686)
• United Kingdom
11 Dec 07
Oh are there Elves on here????????????????
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
11 Dec 07
Of course there are elves here :)
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
11 Dec 07
Sorry getting to reply so late on this...uh, but by now know about the Elves here...LOL
1 person likes this
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
8 Dec 07
yes this is a very good forwad I have got it several times and it does make you think if you have been mean to family member more than starngers . I now think of it every time I say excuse me or thanks when a meet a strange . And I do holler at family members some times BUt then if they dont isten what do you do to get the point across lol
4 people like this
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
8 Dec 07
I just read this same thing somewhere this week. If anything my family needs to read this! I've never been abusive to anyone and most of all my family. You read the post about my brother and that's the way it goes in my family. I am always the one being abused but I am stopping it now. I don't make new years resolutions but I think this year will be different and it's one I will keep!
@BarBaraPrz (45475)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
8 Dec 07
Good for you! and Good Luck!
3 people like this
@bhappy2 (327)
• Australia
8 Dec 07
I have actually seen this email before and isn't it true. We are more polite to strangers than to our family. Too often we take our families for granted, thinking they will alway be there, but the sad truth is they may not be. That is why so many people live with guilt. We should all try to be more polite to our family because they are more important than anything else the world. We should all adopt the 'do unto others' policy and value all people.
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
11 Dec 07
Yes, we do often take our families for granted...and it is sad isn't it?
@TerryZ (22076)
• United States
8 Dec 07
Wow that is great! Unfortunatly I find this to be so true when dealing with our family. Yes it has happened alot in my family. So sad. Thats a great poem.
2 people like this
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
8 Dec 07
Wow..I like this..I hope you don't mind if I copy it to send it on.
3 people like this
@someonesmom (5761)
• Canada
8 Dec 07
Hi pyewacket, Thanks for this, as I find it to be quite true. In fact, it brought tears to my eyes. There's just my sixteen year old daughter and myself here, and of course Anna Belle.:) It is easy to take family for granted (I find), and especially the ones we live with. When one of us (or both) is having a bad day, we have said things we've regretted, and have ended up apologizing later. We're very close, but 'only human too.' Then there's the family members we 'hardly ever see,' that live just ten minutes away, but that's another topic.
@Aurone (4755)
• United States
8 Dec 07
It is a thought provoking post. Thanks for sharing.
3 people like this
@BarBaraPrz (45475)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
8 Dec 07
I've read that poem before. It's so sweet, I think I just developed a cavity. ;o) I'm not abusive to my family... I'd have to actually interact with them for that but they pretty much ignore me. My parents are long gone, and only one sister emails me now and then. And one cousin insists that I spend Christmas with her (when I'd really rather just stay home and forget about it). "Family" is over-rated.
3 people like this
@worldwise1 (14885)
• United States
8 Dec 07
This message really touched me, pyewacket, since my family seems to have forgotten what it means to be a family. I love them all dearly, but they seem to have become so self-absorbed and thoughtless that I am at the end of my rope with most of them. Sometimes I wonder what I would do were it not for my youngest daughter-who is very close to me. I did not sacrifice any more for her than the rest, but you would never know it by their actions. I do hope that this holiday season will bring some families closer together, but I don't hold out much hope for mine.
@faith210 (11224)
• Philippines
9 Dec 07
Hi pyewacket! That is very beautiful. I felt a pinch in my heart, somehow I am guilty of being impatient and rude to my own family. That is very enlightnening and I felt the regret and sadness of the few times that I recalled that i am somehow became a little bit unkind to my family for some reasons that would seem so unjustifiable now. Thank you for sharing this story and made me more aware of how I really love my family and their importance in my life. Take care and have a nice day. :)
@tiffiny (872)
• United States
8 Dec 07
Oh now I feel like crap! Lol Yes it's true I'm quicker to snap at my kids and husband than to be rude out side the house. And I do talk bad about my sisters behind their backs.
2 people like this
• United States
8 Jan 08
Oh my goodness!! That brought tears to my eyes! Yes sadly I do think it's true. I do feel we often - without thinking - treat our families worse than we would a stranger. It's so sad. I do try my best to keep this in mind... I just had to copy and forward that to my family and friends (and I think a copy went to you too LOL). Thanks for sharing!
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
9 Dec 07
That sure is something to thik about! I think I may have gotten that e-mail once too. It's much TOO true at times, isn't it? I've had some things happen in my life in recent years that's made me realize that no matter what, family is the most important thing. How right you are about our employers; they couldn't give a rat's behind about us most of the time yet look at how many people give 110% to their job and maybe 50 or 60% at best to their family. We'd all do well to remember who we need and who needs us the most! Annie
@blackbriar (9076)
• United States
11 Dec 07
Ah yes, I've received this in my inbox many times already and still brought tears to my eyes reading it now. I can relate to this as I've treated my family badly many a times but that is slowly changing. I've been trying my best to treat my family alot better than in the past.
@sacmom (14192)
• United States
17 Dec 07
OMG, this is so true. At least for me anyway. I don't know why I tend to be courteous to strangers compared to family. Maybe it's because my kids and husband know how to push my buttons and drive me up the wall! LOL Thanks for sharing this pyewacket. It put tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat.
• United States
8 Dec 07
A beautiful poem...I have seen it before and it always moves me. There is an old saying that we can choose our friends, but not our family and it is very true, but even with negatives it is still your family and for that you should be grateful.
1 person likes this
@4mymak (1793)
• Malaysia
10 Dec 07
this message has entered my own email-box, many times, too... no matter how hard i try to remember the story and what FAMILY stands for... i go home - start my chores, my children get in the way - i forget...and, i become the mother in that story. :( we fear that other people think we are mean, and rude, but with our own family ? i must improve - please God, help me improve...