I have written about, in the past, my sisters daughter who had brain cancer as a child, she is 22 now, and over all doing fine. She has the mentality of an 8-year-old, and this, sometimes, causes one to stop and reflect on what she has to say. Many times you just smile and laugh because her way of processing information is, well lets just say interesting.
For example a few years back my sister decide that the truth of Santa needed to be told to her, she was getting a tad-bit to big to sit on his lap. So the truth was told… Her response, “Well what about Rudolf?” How can you argue with that…?
The latest concerns school. She attends a skill center, a school designed round the needs of kids like her, it teaches skills for life. Some of the kids will be able to hold jobs, live on their own and function in life, and the skill center is there “college”. Her plan, now that she is 22, was to go only 1/2 time, she was getting board with the classes and really only had interest in a few things. One of the things they do at the skill center is provide the kids with a change to work at local business, and she has done so, but only liked working at one particular place. This can be an issue, if they don’t like, well than they don’t understand why they have to do it. She understands she is an “adult”, she is 22, so why is she being forced to work someplace she does not like. Understandable… The other issue, most of her friends have left the skill center, or sadly, they have passed on. This being a risk with any of her friends that had childhood cancer. Her best friend passed on last year, it was a sad, sad time for all of us.
So, her plan, school 1/2 time and work around the house the other part of the day. A good plan, not how I see it, left to her own devices, cartoons would rule her world and little to no work/activity would take place. Not a good thing for her, or anyone else for that matter.
As luck would have it, her friends more or less convinced her to go full-time, but that was not the deciding factor. The State also required her to go full-time, based on her test results. But that, to her, was not the deciding factor, the deciding factor to her was…. are you ready for this…
“If I don’t go full-time, than I wont get my Smucker’s Peanut Butter and Jelly”
Yep, it was the PB&J that did it. You see my sisters would only buy them for school lunches, and with only 1/2 time at school she would not take a lunch, so no PB&J.
This has to cause one to stop and think. How simple, how pure and innocent a thought. My life revolves around whether I can have a Smucker’s or not. You got to love it. How much simpler all our lives would be if only we based our decisions on such important things, such as can I have a Smucker’s or not.
Like I said, sometimes I just have to take pause… And really think about what she said, yes I smiled and laughed when my sister told me this, and yes to her that was a major factor in her decision to attend full-time.
So now I know, when something important comes up, I won’t ask WWJD (What would Jesus do) but rather CIHAS (Can I have a Smucker’s). Yes my friends, Smucker’s can, and did change the world, at least for her. god bless her simple thoughts, there are days I wish I had the same logic…
God Bless
Paul
An American Point of View 