Heartwarming+Stories

In sixth grade, students spend a lot of time working on expository writing (writing to explain, inform, or persuade). There are occasions, however, when students can elect to write a short anecdote or story to express their feelings. These submissions are always welcome because becoming a writer tain involves becoming a person who expressions effectively.



The Funeral By: Danny Y

“I'm sorry, I understand that this loss of your father must be hard to take in,” the doctor told my father on the phone. Once I was told that my grandfather was gone, I eventually learned that God took his soul away from his body to heaven for a reason. He had died because of his over-congested sinuses, his lungs coated thickly in mucus, giving him breathing problems.

When I first entered where the funeral would take place on top of Mount Olivet, my heart was pounding on my chest with anxiety to see my poor grandfather's peaceful but stiff face. It seemed as if everything in the building was waiting for my arrival, calm and still. That's when the sight met my eyes. At the end of the hall lay my beloved, confident, bright grandfather, laying in his coffin, dead. My sister and I sprinted to his coffin, sobbing out rivers of tears over his dead body. When the people for the funeral came, over half of them coming from my grandmother's catholic church, we all sat down and sang songs, recited prayers, and did everything we could to make sure that his soul arose safely into paradise. Later, we all strode outside, where the coffin was going to be buried, in the biting cold weather. After we sang one more soothing song to my dead grandfather, we watched as his coffin descended safely in the hole the funeral services burrowed into the ground. We were all handed roses and flowers to throw into the hole as well to make sure that he knew how much we all loved and cared for him. As we drove home, an ocean of tears had been flooding out of my eyes. My head was so swollen from the crying that I barely managed to listen to what seemed faint and distant words of advice given from my mother; “God always does the right thing, because He's never wrong. Don't worry, He probably brought your grandfather to the heavens by now. God took him so that we wouldn't be stressed over all of his breathing issues.” Those words lit me up, something that I remember to this day, to learn that even if I have to penetrate through devastating funerals like my grandfather's, I have to never think negatively about God, as well as to overcome hardships.

Heartwarming Anecdote Alison P 4 February, 2010

Jimmy Above

A rat-a-tat-tat on the door awakened me from a math homework-related trance. I took my sweet time getting to the door, thinking it was nothing important. I twiddled the lock and swung open the long, thick slab of wood. I rejoiced at the sight of Aunt Jan, Uncle Dennis, and my cousin, Devon. “Hi!” I shrieked, and hugged Devon. But when the muscles in my arms slackened, hers did not. My mom's heels thumped on the wood floors as she strode down the hall. She looked pleased to see her brother, sister in law, and niece. “Hello!” My mom said tilting her head to the side, as if she were evaluating them. “Jim had a heart attack.” Uncle Dennis said, flat out. “Is he okay!?!?!?!?” Mom gasped, her eyes and mouth mirroring her shocked expression. “I'm afraid he didn't make it.” Dennis sighed.. My eyes glassed over with tears. They felt like a dam in a hurricane that was about to burst. I was thinking, hoping, that it was a joke, and Uncle Jimmy was going to walk in the door and they were going to bust a gut laughing. But the back of my brain whispered, “It's true. He's dead.” I don't know how or when we did, but we drifted to the couches in the living room. Devon and I sat, hugging, on the biggest couch, tears streaming down my face. She was so soft and comfy. “Oh, Honey,” Devon said quietly into my ear. A sheet of dyed-red hair fell across my face as she curled over to squeeze me tighter. My eyes felt like they had soap in them and stung like bees. Dennis explained how Jimmy was feeling lousy and he was driving himself to the hospital. He got in a fender-bender and had a heart attack. Jimmy was dead before they got him to the hospital. The doctors found his phone on him and called the first number in his list of contacts, my aunt Boody. She called and told Uncle Tim and Aunt Jenny to start letting the family know while she went to Grandma's house in Pueblo. Tim called and told Denis, and they came to us. I heard Helen crying in the other room. Maggie, my dog, whimpered at my mother's feet, looking guilty. But I wasn't in the mood to find out what she had been up to. Twenty tiring minutes later, Peri, Devon's sister, showed up. All of us cousins and siblings sat in a circle, crying and holding hands. We thought of all the stupid and funny things Jimmy had done. The little things. The big things. All things. It made me feel kind of relieved, because, even though Jimmy wasn't perfect, I was positive he was watching me from above. From heaven. The next day, at school, I was hugged by teachers. Asked, what's wrong? And, Alison, are you alright? People felt badly for me. I suppressed tears all day. My friend Jae hugged me, rocking back and forth in her arms. Zoe squeezed me so tightly I was sure my insides were about to come out. Natalie and Emily had their arms around my shoulders, speaking words of love and comfort. Sam rubbed my back as I curled up on the hot and sticky pleather seat. Even Owen didn't pester me on the long bus ride home. Taryn told me it was okay and I was going to be alright. I knew Taryn's words were right, that just because Jimmy Sullivan wasn't okay, I would be. There are many things I am not right about. A LOT of things I am not right about. And believe me; what was waiting behind the door was definitely important. And I will NEVER dawdle getting to the door again, especially if I hear rat-a-tat-tat.

BY CARLEE G

“The baby is here!!!” shouted mom. Then all of us drove to the hospital. I dashed into the waiting room where my Nana and Papa were.(I had called them ahead of time on my cell) We waited, and waited, and waited until... “C'mon, c'mon! You have a new baby sister, Susan!” dad sprinted out of the hospital room. All four of us scampered back into the room. As soon as I saw Susan, a tear rolled down my cheek. No arms. No arms. My baby sister had no arms. I started to weep. That poor, helpless baby. But I was joyous that I had a sister. Despite her disadvantages, Susan and I would be best friends. We were. I helped here with everything her first couple of years. Even though she had no arms, she still thrived. Then, when she was about four or five, she got mechanical arms. Three years after that I started piano lessons. They were excellent and the piano was my other best friend. One day when I strolled home from school, I came upon Susan and mom fighting. “You can't take piano lessons!” hollered mom, “Your arms...” She trailed off. “They're fine. Can we at least try it? Or are you going to be Mrs, 'You Have To Have Real Arms To Play The Piano'?” Susan shot back. “OK. Fine. You can go to your sisters nest lesson.” “Oh, thank you!!! I love you!!!” Susan grasped mom. So she came to my next piano lesson. __**WOW!!!**__ That girl is superior. Susan got to take lessons too. After six weeks she could play the first movement of a sonatina by Mozart! And after about seven years she memorized sixteen sonatinas. They were all her own expression. Dang, she was superb. It has been eleven years since Susan died. It's strange. I'm... lonely. And sometimes I get down those old tapes of her playing that piano. It hasn't been played in eleven years. Yes, those tapes bring back the memory of her. Of the miracle: Susan C. Moon.

Forever Gone Abby R

I've heard some scary sounds in my life- the scream of my sister, the shot of the gun that stole my father's life, The screech of car brakes as I was knocked to the ground- but none as terrifying as that which I heard now. No, you have never felt true fear if you have never heard undisturbed silence. For that is what I heard then. You may think that you've heard silence, but there is always something. The rustle of sheets in the dead of night, or the turning pages of a good book. I heard nothing of the sort. I sat there in the undisturbed quiet. My breathing was so shallow, it was no longer audible, and the raging hurricane above was unheard from the impenetrable shelter. Though I was safe and unscaved, my lungs filled with icy fear. My mother and sister were out there, in the storm. The silence pressed against my eardrums as if I were at the bottom of the ocean instead of in a small stone cellar. I leaned against the wall, letting the darkness engulf me. It was then that the first sound shattered the stillness. Footsteps. I stood, quivering with fear. The cellar was bathed with a gentle, flickering light, and my mother stepped inside holding a candle. Her face was matted with dirt, save for the many muddy tracks eroded clearly through the grime. There were tears in her eyes.

"Katherine?" I asked in terror more extreme then that that had gripped me in the silence. There was a slight plead in my cracking voice.

"Gone," my mother whispered, as if if she spoke quietly enough, she could reverse the inevitable. Gone. I formed the word with my lips, but did not speak it. Instead I repeated the only word I could.

"Katherine. Katherine. Katherine." I attempted to draw comfort from the only word left sparingly to me. But my younger sister's name could give me nothing. Nothing to what the real person could. No one could cheer me up. No one but the small child that could see happiness in any and every situation. The small child who had been forced to leave this world so long before her time. Without that beloved child, all was lost. It was pain beyond imagination, what I felt. Almost unbearable, losing that someone whom I knew so well. She would never come back, I forced myself to think. There was a twinge of regret in the pit of my stomach, as I remembered in horrible detail, all the times I had teased her. And how she'd endured it so well. Neither me or my mother spoke for the longest time. Or possibly just a matter of minutes. I didn't know and I didn't care. The mere matter of time was of no value to me. My life surely couldn't continue with the absence of Katherine from it. I couldn't stand it any longer. Though I'd sworn to myself that I wouldn't, I cried. My mother saw the salty water streaming slowly down my cheeks and embraced me. I hugged her back and we shared our grief in the tears that we shed together. In each other's arms, we tried to suppress the feeling of loss that consumed our every muscle and bone. She sobbed into my shoulder, and I squeezed her harder, unable to believe that my sister was.... But I could not say it. I could not think it. My mother reacted to the pressure I offered and hugged me tighter. Though I thought it impossible, eventually, we both drifted into an uneasy sleep.

AnecdoteAllan A It's Christmas morning and the sun is shining through my dingy window as I inspect the fresh new fresh crisp snow that had just fallen that night. I dash to the living room to see all the wonders new presents under the tree. I run to my mom's room shouting “it's Christmas it's Christmas.”She wakes up and we head for the living room. We opened all the gifts and I got a whole lot of awesome stuff... When we were done opening gifts Mom strolls over to the dining room to get one last gift. She comes back and at first I thought she was carrying the worlds largest fluff ball, but then I saw the tiny pointed ears, the small dark paws, and heard the soft little meow and realized it was a kitten. I held her a long time until my mom asked “what should we name her?” I thought of a bunch of names but none really suited her. Then my mom suggested Precious and I loved the name. That was the best Christmas ever. I will never forget it.

Tauzhay D Here is a story that is sure to warm your heart. This story is about a dog that is named Faith that only had two legs at birth. Faith was a dog that was born in a liter with normal dogs; however, Faith was special from the start. Nobody wanted to adopt Faith because she was missing her two front legs and that made her different. One day a woman named Jude Stringfellow said, “I will take her” and she did just that and adopted Faith to be her dog. Faith could not walk so Mrs. Stringfellow started to train and teach her so she could walk on her two legs. She got Faith to stat walking by putting peanut butter on a spoon. Faith stood up, but then she fell. Mrs. Stringfellow tried over and over and then finally she got Faith to stand up on her own. Faith started to move slowly then she started to move her back legs and walk. Mrs. Stringfellow was startled to see her walk without falling. Mrs. Stringfellow said, “is this a miracle or am I dreaming?” Even though Faith would fall from time to time she was still very proud of her. In all, Faith loved Mrs. Stringfellow and Mrs. Stringfellow loved Faith. Overall, the lesson learned in my heartwarming story is to love everyone no matter what they look like and what disability they might have.

Heartwarming Story Valerie T

A heartwarming story is not really that hard to come up with. For instance I had a little puppy that was named Brandy. She had some really bad lumps that could make her die. So what my mother Liz and I did was take her to the vet doctor and the vet said that Brandy has only a little time left before she dies. When we heard the news about Brandy, I cried and my mom said the best thing to do for Brandy is to just put her to sleep. As soon as we got home, I called my grandmother and I told her the news. My grandmother Gloria came by the house for a little while. Gloria wanted to spend as much time with Brandy as possible. When it was time for Brandy to e put to sleep I was in there with her through the whole thing I was really crying then. After that sad moment had happen my mom Liz had an idea. Her idea was that we should get her cremated and I can have Brandy in a box when I think of her all I have to do is just look at the box and say, “You are always in my heart and will be there forever I love and miss you and I always will”. You will be missed but always loved by all of the owners who cared and loved you.

My Heart Warming Anecdote By: Micah B Date: 3/8/2010

I ran through the house, yelling with glee. I had asked my brother, “When will the new kitten be coming?” He answered, “Four days.” That had killed my excitement a little, being only eight, but I still ran through the house like there was no tomorrow. The days had seemed to be and extra two hours long, and I felt like I would die of anxiety. The four days finally passed, and my brother, my mom, and I were out of the house like a rocket with a thousand jet engines. I could tell that my mom and my brother were as excited as I was because they had had a hint of excitement in their voices. Once we pulled up to Pet Co. We bought the cat food and ran back to the van. Once we got home, we ran inside to see little Tangerine. We called her Tangerine because once she curled up, she looked like a little Tangerine. She had been timid at first, but then she had gotten used to us, in fact she had gotten so used to us that she had climbed the drapes more times than I can count! She had always gone underneath the blankets on your bed on cold, frightening nights. We still have that little cat, and I hope to have her for years to come.