the familiar spirit in my father

My supervisor asked me to give a receipt to
a secretary in the admin office. I got to the
admin office but the secretary’s seat was
empty. I waited for few minutes before she
came. I handed over the receipt to her
stating who sent me. She appreciated it.
I opened the exit/entry door to the admin
office when I met a familiar face about to
enter the office.
Me: Good morning ma
Woman: Good morning, my dear.
The look on her face showed she was trying
to remember where she might have seen
me. Well, I didn’t let her think too long
before helping out.
Me: I helped mummy locating….
Woman: Yes! Galacious, right?
She Interrupted.
Me: Yes ma
Woman: What a name! I’m Mrs. Williams.
What are you doing here?
Me: I work here, ma
Mrs. Williams: Oh! Really?
Me: Yes ma
Mrs. Williams: Ok. Hmm, when do you
close?
Me: 5 ma.
Mrs. Williams: Good. Why don’t you stop by
tomorrow after work at my house? We need
to talk.
Me: Hope no problem ma?
Mrs. Williams: At all, dear. Grandma would
be glad to see you, and I also have things
to discuss with you.
Me: Ok ma.
Mrs. Williams: Take care and be careful.
Me: Ok ma thank you ma.
I wondered why Mrs Williams would want to
see me at her house. Probably to have a
drink as an appreciation for the assistance I
rendered to her mother. I wasn’t expecting a
reward for what I did. Albeit I have been
curious on how the inside of the Mrs
Williams house would look like. I had to
wait till Tuesday evening to figure that out.
It was past six in the evening later that
day. I was in the parlour watching TV. Mom
went for a church program with my Ayo. I
heard a knock on the door.
Me: who’s there?
Voice: Udenme
Udenme? What could she be looking for?
Ayo is not at home. I thought.
I barely opened the door. My right hand
was on the door and the other on the wall.
Me: hi
Udenme: hello
Me: Ayo is not in
Udenme: I know.
Me: oh ok.
Udenme: won’t you ask me to come in?
Me: oh sorry. Please come in…… and have a
seat
I opened the door a bit wider and held the
door while she walked in and took her seat.
Me: what should I offer you?
Udenme: Really? Somebody is becoming
hospitable.
Me: Well, don’t blame me. Almost all our
visitors are mom’s. I don’t really have
friends that visit.
Udenme: not even your girlfriend?
Me: Na na. Don’t have one.
Udenme: Really?
Me: yeah
Udenme: well, then I will like fufu with afang
okazi vegetable soup with……
Me: huh?
Udenme: yea. I’m not done yet.
Me: I’m sorry we don’t have that.
Udenme: I know you won’t, but since you
asked what you can offer Instead of telling
me what you have and I’ll choose which
one I prefer.
Me: ok ma. We have….
Udenme: don’t bother.
Me: you sure?
Udenme: of course I’m sure. I live next door,
if I need something I can get In the house.
Me: alright then.
I sat down. There was silence for awhile
before she continued the conversation.
Udenme: You know I haven’t spent a week
yet and I’m already missing Calabar
seriously
Me: Well that’s Inevitable, where you have
been for…..
Udenme: Since I was born.
Me: You can imagine. I’m sure Grace and
my sister have been keeping you company
Udenme: Yea. You know isn’t It awkward
how close your mom and my sister are.
I chuckled
Me: my mom is very tolerant. I took after
her.
She chuckled.
Udenme: It goes both ways.
I heard mom’s voice. She was exchanging
pleasantries with one of neighbours.
Udenme: Isn’t that your mom?
Me: Yea. She’s early tonight.
Udenme: Ok. Lemme take my leave then.
Me: c’mon she’s not going to complain
Udenme: don’t be so sure, she might not in
my presence. You know I’m not my 12 years
old sister.
Me: hmmm
Udenme: Na so. Thanks for the company.
Me: Anytime
Udenme: So I can check in around 1 am?
We both chuckled.
Me: Well, I’m cool with that.
Udenme: I hear. Later.
Me: Ok then.
I helped with the door, while she stepped
out. Several thoughts filled my mind. Is she
hitting on me? Or perhaps she just felt like
talking to someone? Whatever it was, time
would tell.

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The 87 year old student called Rose

I absolutely love this story. She is such an inspiration. Take time to read. You will not regret it!
An 87 Year-old College student named Rose.
The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know.
I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned round to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me
with a smile that lit up her entire being.
She said, "Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?" I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course you may!" and she gave me a giant squeeze. "Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?" I asked. She jokingly replied, "I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids”
"No seriously," I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age. "I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!" she told me.
After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake. We became instant friends. Every day for the
next three months, we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to this "time machine" as she shared her wisdom and experience with me. Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up.
At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium.
As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor. Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, "I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell
you what I know."
As we laughed she cleared her throat and began, "We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop
playing. There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day.
You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die. We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it!There is a huge difference between growing
older and growing up.
If you are nineteen years old and lay in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old.
If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight.
Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change. Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets."
She concluded her speech by courageously singing "The Rose."
She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives.
At the year's end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.
Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be. When you finish reading this, please send/share this peaceful word of advice to your friends and family, they'll really enjoy it!
These words have been passed along in loving memory of ROSE.
"REMEMBER, GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY.
GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL. We make a Living by what we get, we make a Life by what we give."

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Touching Story of the 4 finger pianist

This story will inspire you... to realize how anyone can overcome adversity!
What do you do when you’re born with two digits on each hand and your legs are amputated at the knees when you’re three? Well, if you’re Hee Ah Lee, you become a concert pianist. She is quite a pro at it now, and you’ll love hearing her play.
Hee Ah Lee was born with sever physical deformities. She only had two fingers on each hand. And her legs ended at her knees. Her doctors didn’t expect her to live.
But she did live. At the age of six she started to play piano. At the time, her four fingers were very weak. She couldn’t even hold a pencil. Her mother hoped playing piano would strengthen her grip.
It worked. But more than that, Lee found a calling. She now tours the world, playing for stunned audiences. She plays pieces that would be difficult for able-bodied pianists.
It is the story of a mother and a daughter who have overcome odds from the very beginning.
Lee’s mother became unexpectedly pregnant while married to a disabled man. Doctors told her that because of a medication she had been taking her child would not be normal. She elected to continue with the pregnancy and in 1985 in Seoul, South Korea, little Hee Ah Lee was born with only two fingers on each hand, disfigurement of her legs, and slight brain injury. The hospital told Sun that she could not care for the child at home and relatives wanted her to place the child for adoption in a foreign country. Sun thought her baby was beautiful, however, and was determined that she would live a successful life.
When Lee was a pre-schooler her mother decided that she wanted her daughter to take piano lessons and for two reasons. One was that she felt it would help her strengthen her hands so she could hold a pencil. The other was that she felt that if she could master the piano, she could master anything. For six months piano schools turned them down then the one teacher who did accept the task got discouraged and wanted to quit. It became a three-month contest of wills between mother and daughter that led to a confrontation in which Sun actually threw her daughter on the floor in frustration. She said Lee got back up on the piano bench and for the first time played the children’s song she had been trying to learn. That was the turning point and one year later Lee won the grand prize in a piano concert for Kindergartners. It was at age 7 that Lee won Korea’s 19th National Handicap Conquest Contest and was presented with her award by the President of Korea.
Today Lee is 22, has won numerous awards, and is a widely traveled concert pianist with more than 200 appearances. Her first album titled “Hee-ah, a Pianist with Four Fingers” was to be released in June, 2008.
Lee gives tribute to her mother for challenging her to master the piano and said that although her training was difficult, “as time went by, the piano became my source of inspiration and my best friend.”

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The story of the woodcutter

Once upon a time, a very strong woodcutter asked for a job in a timber merchant and he got it. The pay was really good and so was the work condition. For those reasons, the woodcutter was determined to do his best.
His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he supposed to work.
The first day, the woodcutter brought 18 trees.
“Congratulations,” the boss said. “Go on that way!”
Very motivated by the boss words, the woodcutter tried harder the next day, but he could only bring 15 trees. The third day he tried even harder, but he could only bring 10 trees. Day after day he was bringing less and less trees.
“I must be losing my strength”, the woodcutter thought. He went to the boss and apologized, saying that he could not understand what was going on.
“When was the last time you sharpened your axe?” the boss asked.
“Sharpen? I had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been very busy trying to cut trees…”
Reflection:
Our lives are like that. We sometimes get so busy that we don’t take time to sharpen the “axe”. In today’s world, it seems that everyone is busier than ever, but less happy that ever.
Why is that? Could it be that we have forgotten how to stay “sharp”? There’s nothing wrong with activity and hard work. But we should not get so busy that we neglect the truly important things in life, like our personal life, taking time to get close to our Creator, giving more time for our family, taking time to read etc.
We all need time to relax, to think and meditate, to learn and grow. If we don’t take the time to sharpen the “axe”, we will become dull and lose our effectiveness.

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