~let's be greatful for the good

Be greatful, for what you have ; not because the others can't have it.

Be greatful, for you get food on your plate whenever you are hungry; not because others are starving to death.

Be grateful for having a shelter above your head; not because others sleep drenched wet in the rain by a footpath.

Be grateful for the things you can afford, not because others can't even have the bare minimum.

We often tend to tell our loved to be greatful for leading such luxurious lives and we console them by saying that many people around us are still struggling to survive. But, how can we be comforted by knowing that someone out there is suffering? It's disturbing how people tend to achieve a sense of relief by looking down upon those who are in need.

My mom, runs an NGO "The helping hand" for orphans and all the kids in need . Many a times I accompany mom to work. The very first time I went there, I was 6years old. It was my birthday and mom told me that it would be a great idea to celebrate it with the kids. Although, I wanted to have a party in our backyard with my school friends and play with them all day long; but mom told me to invite them to the children's home instead. She assured me that it will be fun. I was a bit unhappy but I didn't argue further. The day after that we went there with my birthday cake and treats and chocolates and lots of toys .

While in the car , on our way I asked mom, "mom, why can't we just have the party in our backyard? I don't even know these kids."

"Sweetie, unlike you these kids haven't got their mom and dad around them. They don't have a home, or a family. Now that they stay here we help find them good parents, who would love them tremendously and take good care of them. They also deserve to be loved and to be happy. Until then , shouldn't we share our happiness with them? Because when we share our happiness?", mom looked at me.

"It doubles up!", I exclaimed.

Dad looked behind and smiled and mom booped my nose. When we arrived at the children's home, there were kids playing in the front yard, giggling and running all over. My parents went in to arrange everything in the hall and told me to hangout with the kids outside. I took a look around and saw a girl my age sitting on one of the swings . She was wearing a cute red dress with little white hearts on it, and she had a red bow. She didn't look very happy, so I went over and sat on the swing next to hers.

"Hi, I am Audrea."  She looked up and gave me a weak smile.

"I am Bree. Are you going to live with us?", she wondered.

"No, actually today it is my birthday today, so we are going to celebrate it here. How do you celebrate your birthday?", I asked her.

"I use to celebrate it with my parents too, when I was with them . They died last month in a car accident. I live here since then, now I just have a little cupcake and play with the rest of the kids on my birthday.",she sighed.

"I'm sorry for your loss. When is your birthday though?" .

"It's today.",she said looking at the ground playing with a little flower between her fingers.

I felt really bad for her, I didn't want her to be sad on her birthday.

"You know, you could cut the cake with me. Afterall we are birthday twins."  She looked up at me and her face lit up.

"Really?" ,she asked me with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Yes! Friends?" , I lend my hand for a shake; she hugged me tight and placed her flower in my hair. Then we played for a while and ran all over holding hands and laughing out loud. I was so happy. This was so much better than a birthday party in my backyard. Mom- dad called us all in , they decorated the hall beautifully. It looked magical and there was my cake on the table in the centre. There were treats , chocolates and lots of gifts in a corner. I walked upto my parents and told them about Bree. They happily agreed and gave me kisses on my cheeks. Then Bree and I cut the cake together, everyone was singing happy birthday and clapping with happy faces. I looked at Bree, she was the happiest , had a grin left to right that lit up the whole room. I was so happy, this was the best birthday ever! We had the cake and treats, then we opened all the gifts. I let her keep half of them . We also bought toys for the other kids , everyone had a great time. While bidding them goodbye, I felt sad. I didn't want to leave, Bree and I were still holding hands and chatting with eachother.

"Thankyou very much.", she said with warmed up eyes.

"No, don't say thankyou. Friends do such things for eachother all the time .I promise I'll come visit you often." We hugged and said goodbye.

I went to see her every weekend with mom. We used to talk, play and have lots of fun. After a year, she was adopted by a wonderful couple who lived a couple of blocks away from us; Mr. and Mrs. Adams. We use to hangout regularly then , and went to the same highschool. Eventually Bree and I became bestfriends ; and we still are by eachother's side. She's like those people who are always happy and smile their way through hard times. When my grandparents died she never left my side for a whole week. She's the one of the bestest people in my life and I'm so grateful to have her.