The Mental Home

During a visit to the mental asylum, a visitor asked the Director what the criterion was which defined whether or not a patient should be institutionalized.
"Well," said the Director, "we fill up a bathtub, then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the patient and ask him or her to empty the bathtub."
"Oh, I understand," said the visitor. "A normal person would use the bucket because it's bigger than the spoon or the teacup.
"No." said the Director, "A normal person would pull the plug. Do you want a bed near the window?"

Love Letter

My Dear Wife,

You grow more beautiful with time. Can you imagine the two of us with gray hair and lots of wrinkles, with footsteps that move slowly and ears that have grown faint of hearing? It's difficult to imagine, I know; but there is no stopping of the clock. I can almost see that you'll look cute when your hair turns white; you'll look sweet even when wrinkles appear on your face, and my love for you will see past the wrinkled exterior to the beautiful you inside; the you that I've grown to love so much.

Let's not fight aging nor time. Instead, let's accept that it happens and rejoice in the number of years we share together. The more I am with you, my darling, the more deeply I fall in love with you. Our love will sweeten and mellow with the passing of time. The Psalmist said that "the righteous will flourish like a palm tree, ...they will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green" (Psalm 92:12-14).

I thank God for the gift of a companion as wonderful as you, with whom to stay by each other's side. Let's grow old together, my love.

Because I Love You,

Your Husband.

The Seasons of Life

There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third insummer, and the youngest son in the fall. When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.
The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted.
The second son said no it was covered with green buds and full of promise.
The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.
The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.
The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but only one season in the tree's life. He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.
If you give up when it's winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfillment of your fall.

Moral:
Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest.
Don't judge life by one difficult season.
Persevere through the difficult patches and better times are sure to come some time or later.