Friday, August 16, 2013

Francis: A Child for Life

This is Francis.  He is 45 years old and has cerebral palsy.

Francis is our neighborhood's special needs person. He spends most of his day hanging out at the corner store, munching on potato chips and washing it down with a bottle of coke. He is always willing to share a smile and a high five to anybody who greets him.

Francis has very limited speech, but he communicates with his own sign language. He says he has 10 siblings, all of whom are married. When asked if he plans to get married too, he bursts into a hearty laugh and shakes his head.
He loves the store owner's delivery bike (a bicycle with a cart hooked to it). Despite his handicap, he pretty well gets to pedal that bike halfway up the street and back. His childlike pleasures are a sight to behold. He never asks for anything extra. He is content with whatever 20 pesos can buy.

Happiness for Francis is so simple - potato chips, crackers or a chocolate cupcake, a bottle of coke, a bike ride and a high five. 

Seeing him every day humbles me. Here I am, without any handicap, able to converse fluently in 4 languages, with children of my own, and yet I still find it hard to appreciate the blessings that have been given to me. 


If you happen to see Francis, look into the eyes of this "Child for Life" and feel the heartfelt message:


"Live simply, love deeply, and don't forget to share a smile."


33 comments:

  1. indeed, this simple happiness is contagious, a dear friend, Zen, referred me your blog, and I am glad she did. You write in such an inspiring way.

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  2. Thank you, Betchai. My only wish is to have more time to write. My internal hard drive (my old brain) is full and the memories have to be uploaded soon. :)

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  3. wow I would love to meet Francis sis! I wish I could visit your home sweet home one day...and share monggo and crispy gigi....you are indeed a no non sense writer and am proud to be thy friend :)

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  4. That's awesome! These people are so happy about life! It should humble everyone and make them appreciative!

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  5. People like this makes smile at same time sad. But I love how compassionate they are. They still want to live despite their situation! Good job!

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  6. God blesses handicapped people with childlike joy and thankfulness. i think we can learn so much from them!

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  7. When we see people less fortunate than us or as not as normal as us, we tend to be grateful for the little things we have despite the struggles we face. People like Francis, help us in that way. :)

    xoxo
    Pauchee C.
    http://www.paucheecasimiro.com

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  8. this is what life back in the Philippines, we may not have all the things that other people have, at the end of the day we still share a sweet smile of contentment. he is an admirable man because despite his condition he still make people smile with his contagious and real smile. Thanks for sharing this story

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  9. Thanks for sharing this story, very touching.

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  10. Great post! I love that he is so happy and is able to appreciate what he does have.

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  11. Thanks for sharing this story.....He has the right idea...Share a smile to get a smile!

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  12. What a beautiful post - I agree it can become so easy to take things for granted but it's so important to appreciate everything we have all the time!!!

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  13. Amazing! Probably the best post I have read in a long time! I am going to go ahead and share it on my own page! Beautiful!

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  14. It just makes me think of how much of life I take for granted. Look how happy he is. Yet a lot of us can't be happy just for the little things. Our health is number 1.

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  15. Its all about perspective, isn't it? People like Francis have so much to teach us. Thank you for sharing his story.

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  16. It's amazing how such people can see the happiness we all often seem to miss. I wish I could capture a little bit of it. Amazing post thank you so much for sharing.

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  17. Very inspiring; it's the little things in life that we should never take for granted and enjoy them while they last. :)

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  18. It's such a great feeling to see that he's appreciative of all that he has. This is more of a reason why I try not to complain and appreciate all that I have. Thanks for sharing!
    http://fabulousperks.blogspot.com

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  19. Great post, thanks for sharing, it's so easy to overlook every day blessings.

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  20. Great post! I love the quote - it embodies what you are saying

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  21. Loved this story about Francis. We can all learn from him.

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  22. What a heart warming post! It is people like Francis who make us understand the true joy in the world!

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  23. What an inspiring post and very heart warming. Team Francis!

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  24. We have a young friend (my son's friend) who is a special needs child and his parents were told he would never live longer than high school (middle school) and to see Francis and how long he has lived is very encouraging. Give Francis a big hug from us.

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  25. thank you so much sharing this story and the love that you have in your heart, you are truly blessed, wish it was more people like you, great dam post

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  26. Francis sounds like an amazing person. He seems like he has quite the spirit!

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  27. What a great post, we should all live life in a way that makes us this happy - we could learn from him that life can be simple.

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  28. Thanks for sharing this amazing story!

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  29. A truly heartwarming story. Sometimes we need to put things in perspective and be reminded of how happiness is a decision. Francis looks like wonderful person.

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  30. Those kind of happiness are the genuine ones, happiness that is pure and extracted from the heart.

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