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1 year ago
The subtle happiness
It has been a week since I last went home. One week may not seem much, but it’s a burden I carry. Daddy’s home all alone - retired and making the best of his days. Mommy’s still working. Still traveling 2 hours to get to work, and 3 hours back home. As a child, it pains me to see them in such a way.
Daddy’s condition has been a little unstable recently. He has difficulty breathing sometimes, which worries me. Because I’m not at home to be there should anything happen. It hurts to know that you can’t be there for someone who has always been there for you since you were born.
Though Daddy isn’t always easy on me. When I drive, he would question all my decisions, and still gives me driving lessons. Annoying at times, but gesture understood. When I’m around and doing work on my computer, he would come into my room and talk to me. To share with me the ideas and architecture examples he saw on Discovery Channel and National Geographic. Then he moves on about family updates; to update me about the latest family news.
At times like these, while he speaks, I feel a certain comfort. It feels like someone is there to look out for me no matter what. For a son, it is the greatest peace. For a father, it is the greatest gift.
When I look at Mommy, her love for me seem endless, despite her temper sometimes. When I meet her out for lunch during my attachment period, it was a joy. Because I could be myself around her. It was a getaway from the office and colleagues.
Now, I feel indebted to her. For the allowances, for the tuition fees, for the luxury that I have; all of it came from her sweat and tears. I worry for the current generation of adolescences and children. It seems they take things all for granted. Do they really understand hardships that our parents face? Going to work then, and going to work now are two different things. Now we have efficient public transport, and we still complain. Back then, they either walked, or cycled.
We have to feel for the sacrifices our parents made for us. Daddy once told me his dream was to own a Hi-Fi Stereo set, but it was pricey back then. Now it has become affordable, but he still wouldn’t buy it. He said that the money could be saved for my University fees, or perhaps my future marriage. Dreams were sacrificed.
Despite their hardness, despite their discipline, I have loving parents who supported me all the way. I wouldn’t ask for a more well-off family. Mine is just perfect.
“If you prayed for patience, would God zap you with patience immediately? Or will he give you the opportunity to be patient? If you prayed for courage, would God send down his angels and fill you with bravery? Or will he give you the opportunity to be courageous? If you ask for your family to be closer, would God fill the entire family with warm fuzzy feelings? Or will he give you the opportunity to bring your family closer together?”
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