Daddy's Day

Her hair up in a pony tail, her favorite dress tied with a bow Today was Daddy's Day at school, and she couldn't wait to go
But her mommy tried to tell her, that she probably should stay home Why the kids might not understand, if she went to school alone But she was not afraid; she knew just what to say What to tell her classmates, on this Daddy's Day But still her mother worried, for her to face this day alone And that was why once again, she tried to keep her daughter homeBut the little girl went to school, eager to tell them all About a dad she never sees, a dad who never calls

There were daddies along the wall in back, for everyone to meet. Children squirming impatiently, anxious in their seats One by one the teacher called, a student from the class To introduce their daddy, as seconds slowly passed
At last the teacher called her name, every child turned to stare Each of them were searching, for a man who wasn't there "Where's her daddy at?" she heard a boy call out "She probably doesn't have one," another student dared to shout And from somewhere near the back, she heard a daddy say "Looks like another deadbeat dad, too busy to waste his day." The words did not offend her,
as she smiled at her friends And looked back at her teacher, who told her to begin

And with hands behind her back, slowly she began to speak And out from the mouth of a child, came words incredibly unique

"My Daddy couldn't be here, because he lives so far away But I know he wishes he could be with me on this day And though you cannot meet him, I wanted you to know All about my daddy, and how much he loves me so He loved to tell me stories, he taught me to ride my bike He surprised me with pink roses, and taught me to fly a kite.

We used to share fudge sundaes, and ice cream in a cone And though you cannot see him, I'm not standing all alone

'Cause my daddy's always with me, even though we are apart I know because he told me, he'll forever be here in my heart" With that her little hand reached up, and lay across her chest Feeling her own heartbeat, beneath her favorite dress And from somewhere in the crowd of dads, her mother stood in tears Proudly watching her daughter, who was wise beyond her years For she stood up for the love of a man not in her life Doing what was best for her, doing what was right

And when she dropped her hand back down, staring straight into the crowd She finished with a voice so soft, but its message clear and loud

"I love my daddy very much, he's my shining star, And if he could he'd be here, but heaven's just too far

But sometimes when I close my eyes, it's like he never went away." And then she closed her eyes, and saw him there that day And to her mother's amazement, she witnessed with surprise A room full of daddies and children, all starting to close their eyes Who knows what they saw before them, who knows what they felt inside Perhaps for merely a second, they saw him at her side.

"I know you're with me Daddy," to the silence she called out And what happened next made believers, of those once filled with doubt

Not one in that room could explain it, for each of their eyes had been closed But there placed on her desktop, was a beautiful fragrant pink rose

And a child was blessed, if only a moment, by the love of her shining bright star And given the gift of believing, that heaven is never too far.


"HOTEL ROOM"
A husband and wife are traveling by car from Key West to Boston. After almost twenty-four hours on the road, they're too tired to continue, and they decide to stop for a rest. They stop at a nice hotel and take a room, but they only plan to sleep for four hours and then get back on the road. When they check out four hours later, the desk clerk hands them a bill for $350. The man explodes and demands to know why the charge is so high. He tells the clerk although it's a nice hotel, the rooms certainly aren't worth $350. When the clerk tells him $350 is the standard rate, the man insists on speaking to the manager. The manager listens to the man and then explains the hotel has an Olympic-sized pool and a huge conference center that were available for the husband and wife to use. He also explains they could have taken in one of the shows for which the hotel is famous. "The best entertainers from New York, Hollywood and Las Vegas perform here," explains the manager. No matter what facility the manager mentions, the man replies, "But we didn't use it!" The manager is unmoved and eventually the man gives up and agrees to pay. He writes a check and gives it to the manager. The manager is surprised when he looks at the check. "But sir," he says, "this check is only made out for $100." "That's right," says the man. "I charged you $250 for sleeping with my wife." "But I didn't!" exclaims the manager. "Well," the man replies, "she was here, and you could have."

"IMPORTANT"
A Native American and his friend were in downtown New York City, walking near Times Square in Manhattan. It was during the noon lunch hour and the streets were filled with people. Cars were honking their horns, taxicabs were squealing around corners, sirens were wailing, and the sounds of the city were almost deafening. Suddenly, the Native American said, "I hear a cricket."
His friend said, "What? You must be crazy. You couldn't possibly hear a cricket in all of this noise!"

"No, I'm sure of it," the Native American said, "I heard a cricket."

"That's crazy," said the friend.

The Native American listened carefully for a moment, and then walked across the street to a big cement planter where some shrubs were growing. He looked into the bushes, beneath the branches, and sure enough, he located a small cricket. His friend was utterly amazed.

"That's incredible," said his friend. "You must have super-human ears!"

"No," said the Native American. "My ears are no different from yours. It all depends on what you're listening for."

"But that can't be!" said the friend. "I could never hear a cricket in this noise."

"Yes, it's true," came the reply. "It depends on what is really important to you. Here, let me show you."

He reached into his pocket, pulled out a few coins, and discreetly dropped them on the sidewalk. And then, with the noise of the crowded street still blaring in their ears, they noticed every head within twenty feet turn and look to see if the money that tinkled on the pavement was theirs.

"See what I mean?" asked the Native American. "It all depends on what's important to you."

"Teddy Stoddard"
Her name was Mrs. Thompson. As she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the very first day of school, she told the children a lie. Like most teachers, she looked at her students and said that she loved them all the same. But that was impossible, because there in the front row,slumped in his seat, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard. Mrs.Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he didn't play well with the other children, that his clothes were messy and that he constantly needed a bath.
And Teddy could be unpleasant. It got to the point where Mrs. Thompson would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and then putting a big "F" at the top of his papers. At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child's past records and she put Teddy's off until last. However, when shereviewed his file, she was in for a surprise. Teddy's first grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners...he is a joy to be around." His second grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is an excellent student, well liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle." His third grade teacher wrote, "His mother's death had been hard on him.He tries to do his best, but his father doesn't show much interest and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren't taken." Teddy's fourth grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show much interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and he sometimes sleeps in class."
By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents, wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except for Teddy's. His present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper that he got from a grocery bag. Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one quarter-full of perfume.But she stifled the children's laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist. Teddy Stoddard stayed after school that day justlong enough to say, "Mrs. Thompson, today you smelled just like my Mother used to." After the children left she cried for at least an hour. On that very day, she quit teaching reading, and writing, and arithmetic. Instead, she began to teach children.
Mrs.Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy. As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him,the faster he responded. By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class and, despite her lie that she would love all the children the same, Teddy became one of her "teacher's pets." A year later, she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life. Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life. Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he'd stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would soon graduate from college with the highest of honors. He assured Mrs. Thompson that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had in his whole life.
Then four more years passed and yet another letter came.This time he explained that after he got his bachelor's degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had. But now his name was a little longer - the letter was signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, MD. The story doesn't end there. You see, there was yet another letter that spring. Teddy said he'd met this girl and was going to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit in the place at the wedding that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom. Of course, Mrs Thompson did. And guess what? She wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing. And she made sure she was wearing the perfume that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on their last Christmas together. They hugged each other, and Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs. Thompson's ear, "Thank you, Mrs. Thompson for believing in me. Thank you so much for making me feel important and showing me that I could make a difference." Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back. She said, "Teddy, you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference. I didn't know how to teach until I met you."

 

 

*kisses*