Unconditional Love

A story is told about a soldier who was finally coming home from the war. He called his parents from San Francisco.
'Mom and Dad, I'm coming home, but I've a favor to ask. I have a friend I'd like to bring home with me.'
'Sure,' they replied, 'we'd love to meet him.' 'There's something you should know the son continued, 'he was hurt pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on a land mind and lost an arm and a leg.
He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live with us.'
'I'm sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we can help him find somewhere to live.'

'No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live with us.'
'Son,' said the father, 'you don't know what you're asking. Someone with such a handicap would be a terrible burden on us. We have our own lives to live, and we can't let something like this interfere with our lives. I think you should just come home and forget about this guy. He'll find a way to live on his own.'
At that point, the son hung up the phone.
The parents heard nothing more from him.
A few days later, however, they received a call from the San Francisco police.
Their son had died after falling from a building, they were told.
The police believed it was suicide.
The grief-stricken parents flew to San Francisco and were taken to the city morgue to identify the body of their son.
They recognized him, but to their horror they also discovered something they didn't know, their son had only one arm and one leg. The parents in this story are like many of us.
We find it easy to love those who are good-looking or fun to have around, but we don't like people who inconvenience us or make us feel uncomfortable.
We would rather stay away from people who aren't as healthy, beautiful, or smart as we are.
Thankfully, there's someone who won't treat us that way.
Someone who loves us with an unconditional love that welcomes us into the forever family, regardless of how messed up we are. Tonight, before you tuck yourself in for the night, say a little prayer for the strength you need to accept people as they are, and to help us all be more understanding of those who are different from us!!!
There's a miracle called Friendship that dwells in the heart.
You don't know how it happens or when it gets started but you know the special lift it always brings and you realize that Friendship is a most precious gift!
Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed.
They make you smile and encourage you to succeed.
They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, and they always want to open their hearts to us.

How to Date an Older Guy

Okay girls--you know we all like older "men", and why is that? Because they are more mature than "boys" our age. The problem is, while you like your older guys because of their maturity, they might be annoyed with your lack of maturity. Here are some general rules you have to know if you don't want to drive your guy crazy!

Steps

1. Call him no more than once a day. If you call him and talk for a little while, then he says he has to go...let him. Tell him to call you back later, or ask him if he wants you to call him back. If he says to call him back, ask for a time. Then call 15 to 30 minutes after that time. You don't want it to seem like you've been watching the clock, waiting for 6:00:00 to roll around.
   
   
   
2. Be considerate of his time - don't monopolize it! Say he goes to school, like college, and works nights, don't try to talk to him for that hour of available time every day. He has other friends he needs to talk to. Limit it to every other day, or maybe every three days, if he doesn't have much time.
   


3. Give him his guy-time. If he has plans with anyone else, don't invite yourself along. Maybe casually mention, "Well, what if I came with you?", and if he shrugs it off at all or, kind of, seems like he would rather not, just wait for another night.
   


4. Save the messing around until AFTER you are married. Having sex with a guy or messing around with him at all does not make him like you more, the same way it makes you like him more. If you do mess around with him he'll start seeing you as a toy, and the relationship will never go anywhere.
   
5. Avoid saying "I love you" too soon. It'll freak him out! Now if they say it first, okay, but never say it too soon. You'll know when it is the right time - trust your gut!

Tips

• Don't play games, older men have had them all played on them. They know the tricks and they don't put up with them.


• Older men expect you to behave like adults. That means having your own money and paying for yourself or at least offering. If you don't they'll believe you're just after the money.
  
  
  
• Be honest with him with as much as possible. If you get caught lying accept responsibly and apologize. This will show him how mature for your age you really are.

Warnings

• Watch out for the older guys that just want to take advantage of a younger girl. If you mess around every time you hang out and you never just sit together and talk (phone doesn't count), then chances are he's just using you for action.

How to Be a Good Girlfriend

So, you've landed the guy of your dreams. Now that you've found him, let him know how much you appreciate his presence in your life by being a good girlfriend.

Steps

1. Take it slow. Don't cook a three-course meal for the first date. Don't push him to call you his girlfriend after a couple of dates. Don't start talking about marriage and children before you've even met his friends. The beginning is a precious time when you both feel like you're walking on air just because you're together. Eventually this phase will pass and you'll hit bumps in the road that will test your relationship, and during those times, you'll both look back to the memories from the beginning to remember why you're in it. So don't bring up any issues prematurely and make the beginning of your relationship stressful. Let it take its natural course. Cherish your time together--it's the only time this person will be new to you. That doesn't mean you should be an obsessive girlfriend and crave every second of his time. Relax. Be patient. Enjoy.
   
2. Be honest. While being honest to your mate is very important, to the point of being paramount, it is equally important that you are honest with yourself. If you overreact or make a mistake, can you acknowledge your error and apologize. If you're feeling vulnerable or upset, can you sort through your feelings and verbalize them to him in a non-accusing way.
   
3. Have a positive attitude. If everything you say around him is a criticism or an attack, he will not look forward to seeing you. However, you don't always have to agree with him just because he is your boyfriend. Tactfulness is a better strategy in mature relationships. No matter what, have a good sense of humor. Have inside jokes together. Be spontaneous. Be happy.
   
4. Make your desires, needs, and opinions known, even when they may conflict with his. You don't and shouldn't exist solely to please him. Besides, showing that you are your own person with your own needs, desires, and approach to life will keep him interested in getting to know and understand you as a person. Just remember to express yourself in way that doesn't attack anyone else's opinion or lifestyle in any way--you can be humble and outspoken at the same time.
   
5. Take an interest in his interests. You don't have to act like you love his hobbies, but at least try to understand why he's such a fan.
   
6. Buy him simple, unexpected gifts for no special reason once in a while. The thought is always appreciated and it makes the guy feel as if you really do care and love him. Some good gift ideas could be a new music CD he's been dying to get, a book or something else that he'll really like and will be surprised by. Guys like to be surprised with little gifts too.

   Make him something. A paper flower, an artsy heart, something creative that reflects your personality, so whenever he looks at it he'll think of you and smile

7. Let him live his life. If you feel entitled to all of his time and attention, learn how to not be an obsessive girlfriend. Remember that he doesn't need you for everything and that you are separate people as well as a couple. When he needs some space, don't take it personally.

Tips

• As in any healthy relationship, you will have your share of conflicts, some tiny, some big. Remember to be true to yourself, and try to abandon any significant selfishness. A relationship is a matter of team work and a symbiotic relationship, not a parasitic one where a party gives and the other one just takes without giving enough back.
  
• If your boyfriend is acting passive towards you, it doesn't necessarily mean he doesn't love you. It most likely means he is shy and has never been in a relationship before and just doesn't know how to act. To solve this problem you can talk to him about acting that way. Perhaps he's expecting you to take more initiative because you have had more experience with relationships than he has.
  
• Avoid having a "one track" relationship in which the bond revolves around one thing. Keep your relationship strong by bringing variety and diversity into the relationship. Try different and new things together. Relationships are about having fun together, learning together and growing together.

Warnings

• Don't cheat. Some girls cheat, expecting that it will cause him to pay more attention to her. It doesn't. It always backfires. Always.
  
• Don't conduct "secret tests" on your boyfriend to see what he'll do. It's humiliating, disrespectful and unfair, and you wouldn't want him to do that to you.
  
• It's fine to share things with your girlfriends when talking about him, but remember to be respectful of him by not sharing things that are embarrassing, confidential or rude. (Don't kiss and tell!) You can keep your girlfriends "updated" on how the relationship is going, but keep them from getting involved in your relationship, unless abuse or other dangerous activities are taking place (which are never your fault), in which case tell them everything.
  
• Jealousy is a very dangerous thing. Don't intentionally make him jealous. That will result with a lot of problems and difficulties within your relationship.
  
• Try to get along with his friends and family. These are most likely things that mean a lot to him, and him having good opinions about you from people he cares about will mean a lot. Try making friends with his friends, and his siblings. Make sure you're respectful to his parents, and make sure they like you. Try doing little things, like becoming close with his sister or going shopping with his mom.