ABSENCE

"Have faith in your abilities. Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers, you cannot be successful or happy." - Norman Vincent Peale

Absence

Mother: "Why did you get such a low mark on that test?"
Junior: "Because of ABSENCE."
Mother: "You mean you were absent on the day of the test?"
Junior: "No, but the kid who sits next to me was."
Lack of confidence in yourself stifles your creative abilities. It breeds indecisiveness that results in stagnation. I learnt a life lesson during my secondary school days: during a Maths test. After looking through all the questions, I started. With confidence, I worked through the questions. When it was almost time to end, I glanced into my friend's answer sheet, and discovered his solution was different than mine. I canceled my work, copied his and submitted. The following week, as our teacher worked us through the solution to the questions I realized step by step, I'd been correct but I cancelled, and copied the wrong thing. As a result, I failed that test.

THE GIFT OF FAMILY (9); FAMILY, A CHILD'S BEST SCHOOL

"If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher." - Anonymous

The family (home), is the most important place from which a child learns majority of the lessons he needs to face the outside world. Whether they are taught rightly or not it'll reflect in their behaviour when they get out, and this forms a foundation for their views and response to life.

A frail old man went to live with his son, and daughter-in-law, who had a 4 year old grandson. The old man’s hands trembled, his vision was blurry, and his steps uncoordinated. The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather’s shaky hands and poor vision made eating difficult. Grains of food rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he took the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth. The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. “We must do something about father,” said the son. “ I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor.” So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl! When the family glanced in grandfather’s direction, sometimes he had a tears in his eyes as he sat alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food. The four-year-old watched it all in silence. One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, “What are you making son?” Just as sweetly, the boy responded, “Oh, I'm making a little bowl for you and mummy to eat your food in when I grow up.” The four-year-old smiled and went back