Mary and her husband Jim
had a dog named 'Lucky.'
Lucky was a real
character. Whenever Mary and Jim had company come for a weekend visit they
would warn their friends to not leave their luggage open because Lucky would
help himself to whatever struck his fancy.
Inevitably, someone
would forget and something would come up missing. Mary or Jim would go to
Lucky's toy box in the basement and there the treasure would be, amid all of
Lucky's other favorite toys. Lucky always stashed his finds in his toy box and
he was very particular that his toys stay in the box.
It happened that Mary
found out she had breast cancer. Something told her she was going to die of
this disease ... in fact; she was just sure it was fatal. She scheduled the
double mastectomy, fear riding her shoulders. The night before she was to go to
the hospital she cuddled with Lucky. A thought struck her ... what would happen
to Lucky?
Although the
three-year-old dog liked Jim, he was Mary's dog through and through. If I die,
Lucky will be abandoned, Mary thought. He won't understand that I didn't want
to leave him. The thought made her sadder than thinking of her own death.
The double mastectomy
was harder on Mary than her doctors had anticipated and Mary was hospitalized
for over two weeks. Jim took Lucky for his evening walk faithfully, but the
little dog just drooped, whining and miserable.
Finally the day came for
Mary to leave the hospital. When she arrived home, Mary was so exhausted she
couldn't even make it up the steps to her bedroom. Jim made his wife
comfortable on the couch and left her to nap. Lucky stood watching Mary but he
didn't come to her when she called. It made Mary sad but sleep soon overcame
her and she dozed.
When Mary woke, for a
second she couldn't understand what was wrong. She couldn't move her head and
her body felt heavy and hot. But panic soon gave way to laughter when Mary
realized the problem. She was covered, literally blanketed, with every treasure
Lucky owned! While she had slept, the sorrowing dog had made trip after trip to
the basement bringing his beloved mistress all his favorite things in life. He
had covered her with his love.
Mary forgot about dying.
Instead she and Lucky began living again, walking further and further together
every day. It's been 12 years now and Mary is still cancer-free. Lucky? He
still steals treasures and stashes them in his toy box but Mary remains his
greatest treasure.
Remember ... live every
day to the fullest. Live everyday to the fullest. Remember it is a blessing
from God. And never forget ... the people who make a difference in our lives;
are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards.
They are the ones who care for us. [or: They're the ones that bring toys and smiles.]
(Author unknown;
Author's note:
"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.")
Author's note:
"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.")
*****
Another, slightly different Version:
Anyone who has pets will really like this. You'll like
it even if you don't and you may even decide you need one!
Mary and her husband Jim had a dog named Lucky. Lucky
was a real character. Whenever Mary and Jim had company come for a weekend
visit they would warn their friends to not leave their luggage open because
Lucky would help himself to whatever struck his fancy. Inevitably, someone
would forget and something would come up missing.
Mary or Jim would go to Lucky's toy box in the
basement and there the treasure would be, amid all of Lucky's other favorite
toys. Lucky always stashed his finds in his toy box and he was very particular
that his toys stay in the box.
It happened that Mary found out she had breast cancer.
Something told her she was going to die of this disease ... in fact; she was
just sure it was fatal.
She scheduled the double mastectomy, fear riding her
shoulders. The night before she was to go to the hospital she cuddled with
Lucky. A thought struck her ... what would happen to Lucky? Although the
three-year-old dog liked Jim, he was Mary's dog through and through. If I die,
Lucky will be abandoned, Mary thought. He won't understand that I didn't want
to leave him! He thought made her sadder than thinking of her own death.
The double mastectomy was harder on Mary than her
doctors had anticipated and Mary was hospitalized for over two weeks. Jim took
Lucky for his evening walk faithfully, but the little dog just drooped, whining
and miserable.
Finally the day came for Mary to leave the hospital.
When she arrived home, Mary was so exhausted she couldn't even make it up the
steps to her bedroom. Jim made his wife comfortable on the couch and left her
to nap.
Lucky stood watching Mary but he didn't come to her
when she called. It made Mary sad but sleep soon overcame her and she dozed.
When Mary woke for a second she couldn't understand
what was wrong. She couldn't move her head and her body felt heavy and hot. But
panic soon gave way to laughter when Mary realized the problem. She was
covered, literally blanketed, with every treasure Lucky owned! While she had
slept, the sorrowing dog had made trip after trip to the basement bringing his
beloved mistress all his favorite things in life.
He had covered her with his love. Mary forgot about
dying. Instead she and Lucky began living again, walking further and further
together every day. It's been 8 years now and Mary is still cancer-free. Lucky,
he still steals treasures and stashes them in his toy box but Mary remains his
greatest treasure.
Remember ... live every day to the fullest. Each
minute is a blessing from God. And never forget ... the people who make a
difference in our lives are not the ones with the most credentials, the most
money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care for us.
Live simply … Love seriously. Care deeply. Speak
kindly. Leave the rest to God.
(Author
unknown;
Author’s
note:
“A small request: All you are asked to do is keep this
circulating, even if it is only to one more person, in memory of anyone you
know that has been struck down by cancer or is still fighting their battle.”)
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