Bah Humbug?

Today I was waiting in line at the store and I overheard a man talking to a woman. The man said, "I hate this &*#$&^#*&@^& holiday. Like you're only supposed to be nice one #$*@#(* day of the year? What happened to the other 364?"

I felt sad for him. I wondered what would go on in someone's life that they wouldn't notice the good things that happen on the other 364? I firmly believe that what you get in life is what you are looking for. If you look for the bad things, life looks bad. If you look for the good things, life looks good. Not that everything will ever be all bad or all good, but ultimately, we have that choice to realize that even if the glass is half empty, it's still going to help slake our thirst. Even on a bad day, there's little things to smile about if we're open to finding them.

I wanted to tell the man at the store one of my favorite stories. But, I didn't think he would understand or appreciate it much. So I'll tell you because maybe you will (and maybe you've heard it before, but I still love it).

One year, there was a little girl and all she wanted for Christmas was a pony. She talked about ponies every day, she visited every Santa she could find to ask for a pony, she did all her chores just perfectly right to convince her parents that she could take care of a pony, she collected pony toys, wore her hair in a pony tail... and she begged and she begged and she begged... "Mommy... daddy... all I want for Christmas is a pony!" Finally, Christmas morning came and she jumped out of bed and ran downstairs to see her new pony... and discovered the family's living room was piled high to the top in manure!!! Her parents came down behind her and stood in shock at the disaster before them. But, the little girl knew just what to do. She ran to the garage, grabbed a sturdy shovel, and with excitement flashing in her eyes, she threw open the window and began shoveling the pile out the window. Her dad, in shock and horror, shouted, "Honey, WHAT are you doing?!" She stopped for a moment and with wide little girl eyes exclaimed, "Well, daddy... with all this manure, I figure there's got to be a pony in here somewhere!"

Yep, I want to be like that little girl, not the man in the line. I'm a people, and whether other people do or not, I still try to exercise my ability to spread kindness and caring 365 days a year. I hope you do, too.