When we’re babies, we’re born totally helpless. Just about the only thing we can do is grab on to our mommy and daddy’s fingers or cry when we want food or drink. And there they are, our parents, to fulfill our every need. To spend sleepless nights nurturing us so that we may grow up, healthy and happy. No, they may not always get it right, but their heart is always in the right place.
Then things change. We get older, and so do our parents. And like us when we were infants, they too may become helpless. Their memories might begin to fade. Their hands may begin to shake at a task even as small as holding a teacup. For some children, this is a burden. For others, it is a promise to keep. When I saw this story being passed around chain emails and shared on Mom’s Recess Facebook page, it reminded me of how quickly we can forget that being someone’s child doesn’t mean that you only are taken care of, it means that one day you will become the caretaker. That is the beautiful circle of life…
[H/T: Mom’s Recess]“A son took his old father to a restaurant for an evening dinner…”
“Father being very old and weak, while eating, dropped food on his shirt and trousers. Others diners watched him in disgust while his son was calm.
After he finished eating, his son, who was not at all embarrassed, quietly took him to the washroom, wiped the food particles, removed the stains, combed his hair and fitted his spectacles firmly. When they came out, the entire restaurant was watching them in dead silence, not able to grasp how someone could embarrass themselves publicly like that.“
“The son settled the bill and started walking out with his father.
At that time, an old man amongst the diners called out to the son and asked him, ‘Don’t you think you have left something behind?’”
“The son replied, ‘No sir, I haven’t.’
The old man retorted, “‘Yes, you have! You left a lesson for every son and hope for every father.’
The restaurant went silent. To care for those who once cared for us is one of the highest honors.”
Please SHARE if you would have done exactly what the son did in this scenario!