The following was submitted by a 13-year-old girl.
Perceptive, sensitive, mature, her message strikes a chord in
any heart.
Just a few short years ago, my family moved to Israel from the
USA.
Being that all of us kids knew quite a bit of Hebrew, the move
was not a disaster, but rather, Boruch Hashem, quite the
opposite. Even so, I must admit that there were some things
that we just had to get used to, such as going from a big house
to a comparatively small apartment, which happens to be
something that I'm still not too happy about, but never mind
that now.
Anyways, for the past three years, we hadn't sold our old
house. Now, recently, my parents decided that the time had
come. Secretly, I feel that I don't want them to sell it, even
though I know that for the next million years we will not go
back to live there, anyway. If you believe that my reason is
because I plan to live in it in a million and one years, then
you should know that I'm not the type of kid who plans things
that long in advance.
If so, you might ask, what do I really care about that house
being sold? I mean, after all, everyone knows that a house is
only a structure of bricks, wood or some other building
material, while the home is the place where you feel loved and
welcome no matter what. It is the place that has an atmosphere
of warmth, where you spend your time and experience a lot of
what really matters.
Well, after trying to figure out an answer to that very
question, I think I've come to a conclusion.
I think that a house is like a treasure box. I mean, the house
stood there and watched all that went on in it, all that was
quietly deposited in it. It's a treasure box that only I can
open. I can walk into that house and remember all that happened
in every little corner; and these memories are all- and-only
mine. The house keeps all my secrets, that if I were to tell
you, would no longer be secrets. That old treasure box
remembers things that are important to me and to nobody else. I
want to be sure that I can always go back and open up my
private treasure box and remember...
But things don't always work exactly the way people want them
to. Time does its job and makes changes. Our job is to accept
them and make the best of them. In this case, I suppose that
although I have no choice but to give up my old treasure box, I
have a new treasure box that must yet be filled.
It may be a smaller treasure box, but who says it isn't more
valuable? As a matter of fact, I'm sure it is. And I think I'll
start filling it as soon as possible...
