Compassion, is defined as . Deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it. Even as a small child I had compassion. This is a true story to show just that.
My Grandmother on my fathers side and her daughter Donna were visiting. Those two were loud and crude and obnoxious. They screamed and cussed at my cousin Melody and it was horrible to see.
My Grandmother was jealous of me and my Dad. She wanted all his attention and affection for herself. At first she let her anger and hate towards me show. That didn't work at all in fact quite the opposite. Next she tried to win me over by pretending to like me. This is the result of that.
One day she gave me a coloring book and crayons. Melody and I were coloring quietly together when she noticed us. She screamed loudly. "G*d Dammit Melody ! I bought that for her not you. Get away from there you ...expletive , expletive ..." Melody got up and left the room.That was the last straw for me. I calmly gathered up the crayons and coloring book. I walked over and handed it to her.
"If Melody can't color too you can have these back." She was taken totally by surprise. Stunned and speechless that a little girl like me would say that to her. Eventually she stuttered and said in a sickly sweet voice. "Honey, If you want Melody to color too that's fine with me."
She lived to be a ripe old age. One day I asked my Mom why good people died young and bad people lived to be old like her. Her answer was. "Because God gives the bad ones every chance to change"
I would like to say that my actions made her nicer. But, this is true life not a fairy tale. As far as I know neither of them ever did change. I can't say for sure if that is true. They lived a long way from us , for that I will be eternally grateful.
** I called her "Grandmother" in this story to avoid confusion. She was never a real Grandmother to me. My real Grandmother died before I was born
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