***************** A Beautiful Story *********************
> After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to take another woman out to
> dinner and a movie.
>
>   She said I love you but I know this other woman loves you and would love
> to spend some time with you.
>
> The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit was my MOTHER, who has been
> a widow for 19 years,
> but the demands of my work and my three children had made it possible to
> visit her only occasionally.
>
> That night I called to invite her to go out for dinner and a movie.
> "What’s wrong, are you well," she asked ?
>
> My mother is the type of woman who suspects that a late night call or a
> surprise invitation is a sign of  bad news.
>
> "I thought that it would be pleasant with you,"  I responded.  "Just the two
> of us."
>
> She thought about it for a moment, and then said, "I would like that very
> much."
>
> That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick her up I was a bit nervous.
> When I arrived at her house,
>
> I noticed that she, too, seemed to be nervous about our date. She waited in
> the door with her coat on.
>
> She had curled her hair and was wearing the dress that she had worn to
> celebrate her last wedding anniversary.
>
> She smiled from a face that was as radiant as an angel’s.  "I told my
> friends that I was going to go out with my son,
>
> and they were impressed, "she said, as she got into the car. "They can’t
> wait to hear about our meeting".
>
>
>
> We went to a restaurant that, although not elegant, was very nice and cozy.
> My mother took my arm as if she
>
> were the First Lady. After we sat down, I had to read the menu. Half way
> through the entries, I lifted my eyes
> and saw Mom sitting there staring at me. A nostalgic smile was on her
> lips…
>
> "It was I who used to have to read the menu when you were small," she said.
> "Then it’s time that you relax and let me return the favor," I responded.
>
> During the dinner, we had an agreeable conversation – nothing extraordinary,
> but catching up on
> recent events of each other’s life. We talked so much that we missed the
> movie.
>
> As we arrived at her house later, she said, "I’ll go out with you again, but
> only if you let me invite you." I agreed.
>
> "How was your dinner date?" asked my wife when I got home.
>
> "Very nice. Much more so than I could have imagined," I answered.
>
> A few days later, my mother died of a massive heart attack. It happened so
> suddenly that I could not do anything for her.
>
> Some time later, I received an envelope with a copy of a restaurant receipt
> from the same place mother and I had dined.
>
> An attached note said: "I paid this bill in advance. I wasn’t sure that I
> could be there; but nevertheless,
>
> I paid for two plates – one for you and the other for your wife. You will
> never know what that night meant for me.
>
> I love you, son."
>
> At that moment, I understood the importance of saying in time: "I LOVE YOU!"
> and to give our loved
> ones the time that they deserve. Nothing in life is more important than your
> family.
>
> Give them the time they deserve, because these things cannot be put off till
> "some other time."
>
> Hope that this  Year we can spend more time with our family.
> Do not hesitate to do things that need to be done,
> do not hesitate to help people that are in need of our help,
> do forgive the people that did wrong to us.