Today I’ll Break My Rule on Being Happy
Posted by: leodini on: April 24, 2006
As a parent and family entertainer, I constantly think of ways to make children happy. One of the basic strategies I use for dispensing happiness is to keep myself in constant cheerful mood. I find making children (or their parents) happy a simple matter if I am myself happy.
So not so long ago, I made a pact with myself to be like an ostrich. You know, hide my head in the sand to block the negativities of the world. I didn’t want gloom to poison my system. I inoculated myself from despair and unhappiness by tuning them out.
I made this little rule not to read stories that depressed me and robbed my day of cheerfulness. Not only didn’t I read stories of tribulation, trial, ordeal and misery, I also didn’t forward them to others or share them with friends.
Today I’ll break that rule. After reading a story that thoroughly broke my heart, I’ll share it with you. The story was written by Kevin Sites, one of the world’s respected war correspondents.
I’ll wriggle out of my little rule by justifying my action. The story is partly sad (it tells of a child’s ordeal), but it is also partly a happy tale, because it tells of the triumph of a girl’s sturdy spirit. The saddest and happiest parts are that the story is true.
Ironically, this story of abuse has taught me how to love my children more. It has made me promise to myself to grit my teeth a bit longer and to extend my patience further beyond the moon, when the kids become impossibly unruly. All this makes breaking my rule worthwhile.
Now that I have wormed myself out of my self-made escape clause, here’s the story. It’s titled “Child Bride.” If you haven’t read it yet, keep a tissue paper in handy. You may need it. I wish I had one while reading the story.
Please click the link below:
Stay magical,
Leodini
Make Your Child Happy on Her Birthday
