Who is or was the greatest human being you have ever known ?

Why was this man or woman the greatest ? What were the characteristics or values of this person ? Probably the greatest human for me has to be my father. He's practically a saint, although he's an earthy sometimes profane one :-) He has wonderful patience, a very kind heart and lots of generosity for people.

How about your greatest real human being ? :-)

My son.

He was born with a physical and mental disability and yet he does everything he is capable of doing (and tries some things that he fails...but he tries!!).

He goes to school each day and busts his butt. He does his homework (which is SO hard for him to understand) and completes all his assignments and takes all the tests (even though he has trouble passing them). Even with his mental disability he is only in three special education classes (out of seven).

He is in four extra-curricular activities not including his church group and our political volunteering. AND he works as a volunteer at the YWCA in the summer with their summer day camp.

He just doesn't complain!!! EVER!!!

My husband says he's the only kid that wakes up every morning thinking that the sun came up just for him. And it's true.

Now, I'm teary eyed. I love that young man so much and am so proud of him.

:cry:

Matt's Momma :)

but he has a wonderful mom too! :)

:hi:

Our boy scout troop has a couple of kids with disablities and they seem to work harder and do more than a lot of the kids with none!

he is.

He wasn't in scouts, just because I was a single mom for a while and was overwhelmed and stretched too thin working, going to school and being a mom. But, there are several kids with disabilities that are in our local scouting program and what I see is not just the good for them but the good for the non-disabled kids that learn to help.

My son's two best friends help get his wheelchair in and out of the car, help him with his plate at dinner, help him in the pool or at theaters. It's neat to see non-disabled people at a young age learning to work with disabled people. That's reality.

may actually turn out to be card carrying liberals!!! My youngest son has a friend with speech problems and it is amazing how he stands up for him when others make fun of his friend. They are both in middle school right now and have been friends since pre-school.

I volunteer pretty often in my youngest's school in the special ed classrooms. There is a wide variety of kids in there with a wide variety of issues ranging from severe autism to Down Syndrome. I can't tell you how these precious gifts have enriched my life and the lives of my family.

We have a sweet little friend who has Down Syndrome who spends a lot of time here, playing, eating over, and her favorite thing, sleeping over. I can't imagine not having this precious little person in my life. There would be an enormous void.

And, my own children have been so enriched by these little guys. I have always maintained that people who treat the disabled poorly will get a big shock when they get to Heaven and find out that Jesus has Down Syndrome. (Hope this doesn't start the religious wars all over).

Your child sounds very lucky to have a mom like you. I wish all kids with disabilities were as fortunate.

:hug: I got teary-eyed reading your post. You're so sweet.

Congrats on raising a great kid!

Taught me character, kindness, wisdom, to be proud of real achievement and to endure every pain before surrender when I know I'm right. My Grandpa is gone, but I talk to him every night-really.

Most Jesus-like person I know.

I have no idea how the hell she does it.

If there's a heaven, though, she's at the top of the list.

We used to say that if she were ever chosen as Pope, she would turn the church completely around by conforming to the teachings and behaviors of Christ and not man.

My church even established an award in her honor after she passed, for her commitment to social justice. A beautiful marble bench bears her name at the entraceway and every year, another person is given this award for their following in her footsteps.

:loveya:

she was a single woman (widow) back in the 70's. She taught me everything I needed to know about being independent.

He was blessed with a long life. He lived to be one-hunderd years old. At age 95 we went to family to celibrate Christmas, but the elevator was broken. He walked the stairs to the seventh floor. His mind was keen until he was 98 then it started to fade, but he held on because he wanted to become one-honderd years old.

He had a though life. He held a high in the Union. He was always riding on his bicycle from town to town. I've read a diary and his energy was amazing. A compassionate heart in service of the people. A great role model to strife for. I loved his stories he told about the past. When the world was oh so different, but human were all so alike back then. I guess he taught me the real lessons of life. That you should try to change the world and you can't really change it, but on a micro level you can make a difference and that's what we should attempt.