 |
Walking down the
street, Celso
was dismayed. He
kicked a can and
thought:
— Vacation isn’t
like I had
planned to.
During the
school year,
having to do
homework and
face tests, he
longed for
vacation from
school promising
to himself he
wouldn’t do
anything. He
wanted to rest!
Even his mother
was warned:
|
|
— Mommy,
on
vacation
I won’t
do
anything.
No work,
no
activities.
Don’t
wake me
up! I
want to
sleep a
lot! |
His mom agreed.
Now, Celso slept
until noon,
waking up only
for lunch.
Later, he spent
the rest of the
day doing
nothing. At the
beginning it was
great, then, not
knowing why, he
started feeling
unhappy and
grumpy,
complaining
about
everything.
His friends
tried to take
him to play
soccer or go to
the pool, but
the boy rejected
saying:
— I won’t go. I
want to rest!
One day a friend
of his, going
past his house
saw him at the
gate, and
invited:
— There is this
group which is
going to take
some soup to a
poor
neighborhood and
I’m going to
join them. Do
you want to go
along?
— You kidding?
With this
scorching sun?
No thanks!
A week had
passes... two
weeks...
In the third,
Celso couldn’t
stand boredom
anymore.
Watching his mom
washing the
clothes, the
boys said:
— Mommy, I don’t
know what’s
happening to me.
I’m dismayed. I
don’t eat. I
can’t sleep well
at night. And
the worst, I’m
always tired!
His mom dried
her hands in the
apron, looked at
her son and
smiled,
understanding:
— It’s because
you aren’t doing
anything useful,
my son. The less
you do, more
tired you get.
She sat by his
side and went
on:
— For us to
live, God gave
us energy. We
need to know how
to use it well.
That’s why we
feel like
working, doing
things.
— But when
school had
finished I was
so tired I
couldn’t see
books in front
of me anymore!
— That’s okay,
because you
studied hard all
year long, my
son, and needed
to rest. Now,
you rested
enough and you
need to exercise
your body and
mind again.
There are other
types of
activities to
keep us active,
cheerful and
happy. Reading a
good book,
practicing a
sport, a visit,
helping others,
those things are
useful and
nice.
|
Celso thought a
little and
concluded that
his mom was
right.
In that
afternoon, he
went with his
friends to the
club for a
soccer match. He
came back home
like another
person.
On the following
day he met the
girl who would
take soup to the
poor and decided
to join her. He
saw so much
poverty and
suffering,
that he
was
touched.
He helped
|
 |
|
distribute
soup and
bread,
talked
to the
kids,
visited
families
and came
back
home,
feeling
much
better. |
Smiling, he came
in and told his
mom what he had
done. He looked
much better and
had a different
look in his
eyes.
He took a seat
and ate without
complaining.
With the
activities of
the day, he was
tired but happy.
That night he
could sleep well
again. On the
other day, he
woke up full of
energy, and
said:
— Mommy, I want
to enjoy my
vacations!
Aunt Celia
|
