Unconditional love (Sappy) (508 hits)
Category: GeneralRating: -0.4 on 5 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Dennis Hoffman (View user info) at 2005-06-24 15:13:47 EDT
"Unconditional love" is a term I never really understood until a few years ago. When I first heard my mom tell me she loved me unconditionaly I thought, "Wow, I can get away with anything now!"
My family is huge. If we all had greasey hair and shiney shoes, you'd swear we were Italians. Blond italians. We're actually German. Germans group together pretty strongly, as they've proven before in years gone by. So if we all had tan suits and armbands, you'd swear we were Nazis.
A few years ago, my family had a little get-together. If you have a big family, you know that something is being celebrated every weekend. During these get-togethers, I exert enormous efforts to watch my language in front of my cousins and their children who have had strong religious upbringings. But one day I slipped up.
"Oh my god!" I blurted out and quickly covered my mouth.
My little second-cousin, with all the innocence and sweetness that embodies an 8 year old girl, looks up at me and asks a very valid question:
"How come you can take the Lord's name in vain? We aren't allowed to say that at my house."
At that moment I was given a choice. Do I apologize to her and tell her that I will be more careful in the future to not say such things? Or should I tell her the truth?
No, I can't lie to her. The world is cruel enough without having her big cousin lying through his teeth. So I turn to her and I respond simply, albeit quietly:
"Well... I don't believe in god."
At that, she started crying. As god (oops) as my witness, the poor girl started crying. She stood up and ran over to her mother. She clung tightly to her mother's leg and let out a whaling cry of agony that spoke volumes. Not only was I going to hell for not believing in god, but now I was going to be left out of her mother's prayers. That's like going to hell and not having anybody care.
Her mother understandably asked what was wrong, but the little girl wasn't answering. Knowing that I would never intentionally hurt her daughter in any way, my cousin looked at me as if her daughter had fallen down or hit her head on something. It didn't take long before she noticed the look of guilt on my face.
After she got her daughter to calm down, my cousin pulled me into a room and asked what had happened. I explained to her the conversation her daughter and I had. I apologized profusely, because I was genuinely sorry. My cousin almost started crying herself and hugged me. This wasn't a hug out of pity, or because she felt sorry for me because I had lost "Him". This was a hug of reassurance, that no matter what she will always love and care about me.
Since then, my cousin has explained to her daughter that not everyone believes as they do, and that's something that they just have to accept. My cousins still trust me with their children, and their children still look up to me and enjoy me babysitting them.
This was four years ago. In those four years, I've discovered the meaning of unconditional love. I've screwed up a lot in my life. I've done things that have lost me some really good friends, and things that would make most parents beat their children senseless. But through it all, my family has always been there with me. My cousins have never tried to convert me, and I don't think they ever will. They accept and appreciate me for who I am. They have loved me no matter what. Unconditionally.
I'm Dennis Hoffman.
Goodnight.
*BANG*
User Reviews
Submitted by Darth_Adwain (user info) at 2005-06-24 16:45:21 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Could not get past the title
Submitted by Deidra (user info) at 2005-06-24 16:31:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
ZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..........
Submitted by c1ndy (user info) at 2005-06-24 15:31:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
do something good rainman
Submitted by Xcuses (user info) at 2005-06-24 15:26:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I loved you in Tootsie
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2005-06-24 15:19:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
MR HOFFMAN, DO YOU REMEMBAR IN KRAMAR VS KRAMAR WHERE YOU WERE YELLING AT THAT JUDGE OMG THAT WUZ AWESUM!