There once was a man named Ed. Ed had a wife and three kids and worked at a very successful job. His life was perfect. But as time went on, his children grew up and went off on their own to form their own families, but soon Ed became a grandfather. And once again, life was perfect. Season by season, his children and grandchildren across the nation would come visit him. But Ed was growing older and at the age of seventy-eight, Ed’s wife died. His heart was broken. Ed finally decided that his time of success was over and his time to retire was now. With nothing to do, he could travel around the country and visit his children’s families, like he had never done before. But after years of traveling alone, Ed was tired - mentally, physically and emotionally - so Ed went back to his home and stayed there.

Alone. Ed still got his seasonal visits, but it wasn’t enough. Ed. Was. Sad.

One day, when Ed went to the park and sat on a lonely bench next to a playground to think about his life, a little blonde girl, about the age of four, came up to the bench and sat on the opposite end. Slowly, but confidently, the little girl inched her way across the bench toward Ed. Wobbling to stand, the little girl stared directly, at eye level, at Ed’s face. Very politely she asked Ed why he had so many bumps on his face, putting each of her tiny fingers into the crevices of his wrinkles. After sitting in silence pondering why a little girl would ask such a thing, Ed turned and looked the little blonde girl in her huge curious eyes and said in a secret whisper, “Because they mark all of the many blessings I’ve had throughout my life.”