Finding Chika: A Little Girl, an Earthquake, and the Making of a Family

by Mitch Albom

When I was One, I had just begun. When I was Two, I was nearly new. When I was Three, I was hardly me. When I was Four, I was not much more. When I was Five, I was just alive. But now I am Six, I’m as clever as clever, So I think I’ll be six now for ever and ever. —A. A. Milne

It takes a special strength to take care of a child, Chika, and a whole different strength to admit you cannot.

There are many kinds of selfishness in this world, but the most selfish is hoarding time, because none of us know how much we have, and it is an affront to God to assume there will be more.

I have always found something forgivable about children seeking attention and the lengths they will go to get it.

The most precious thing you can give someone is your time, Chika, because you can never get it back. When you don’t think about getting it back, you’ve given it in love.

Sometimes life throws a saddle on you before you are ready to run.

[Misfortune doesn’t have a horn.] —Haitian proverb

“Children are not a distraction from more important work. They are the most important work.” —Dr. John Trainer

What we carry defines who we are. And the effort we make is our legacy.