Short Stories

Short Story #1 – They are smiling because I am making progress!!! 

I am making progress; this is what I choose to believe

The other day in class we read general information about the economy of the European Union.  In completing this assignment, I would read a phrase and ask, “What does this phrase mean?”  My professor kept laughing because I kept saying, “What does this raspberry mean?”

Later that day in class we started to read about an issue the Swiss are voting on: mandatory public day care for all.  I read the first page of the document prior to the end of class.  As I finished the professor was smiling and my classmate said I was funny.  I know what I read, and I know what I understood, but I am left to ponder what they heard me say.  I like to believe they were smiling because I am making progress.

Short Story #2 – The Nature of Noah

Noah waving with Dad on the bus

For the most part Noah does two things when he is on the bus.  The first is to sleep.  The second is to interact with people.  He will watch, wave, smile and laugh at them.

The other day, on the way home, the bus was nearly empty except for us sitting in the middle of the bus and three teenagers sitting at the back of the bus.  The first thing that came to my attention was Noah’s laughter.  The second was the teenage girl who was smiling and waving at Noah.  As this is what he normally does in the bus I paid no real attention and re-focused my attention to the scenery.  Then something caught my attention, and I looked back at the teenage girl just as her and the two teenage boys were ducking there heads behind the bus seats.  Within in seconds, their heads popped back up again with smiles looking at Noah.  Noah laughed, I laughed, and when they noticed me watching them they became embarrassed –the teenage girl hid behind the seat (who said the Swiss are reserved?!).  It is a moment I will not forget.

Is this the nature of Noah? How do I encourage it? Will it change?

A few days latter while waiting for the bus in Neuchâtel, Noah was once again waving and smiling at people.  He caught the attention of an elderly lady who laughed and said something in French about his laughter and smile.  Another lady, waiting at the station, spoke up and said “I have seen him before, and he does this all the time!”  We all laughed.

Will the terrible two be the laughing two’s?  If he changes, will it be something I did?

Sometimes all you can do is pray, trust, and believe. “Train a child in the way he should go, and when his is old he ill not turn from it.” Proverbs 22:6

Short Story #3 – A Valentine Day Gift?

A wedding day kiss to remember!

Two and a half years ago I took my wife out on a date that cost me thousands of dollars and lasted a week (some of you know it as a wedding & honeymoon).  How am I every to top that and should I even try??!!  (Husbands please note comments left on the website are not anonymous)

God Bless