Last week I was told of the death of a young man. This week an old lady took her own life. Seems to be a epidemic of a small proportion on suicide in our town. What is the matter with us? have we grown to be so modern and busy that we forget our old folks at home. I must say I am guilty of it. However I think I am not the only one not spending enough time with the ones who took care of us when we were too little to fend for ourselves, who stayed up till the early morning to make sure our fever hasnt gone up, who cleaned up our vomit when we had the stomach flu, who cleaned the toilet when we missed the toilet bowl completely, who brought water up so we could have our medication in the middle of the nite, who rub our chest with vicks or fung yu on our tummy when we had wind and who, how annoying they were to us that time, kept pushing us to do our best!
Now in their golden years, are alone because we are too darn busy with our kids and our activities. We assume they are ok as they never complain, they never drop in at dinner time, they never ask if they could have a small piece of the cheese cake we made for our friends the nite before. What happened?
It is so convenient to forget them. It is so inconvenient when we call and they go on and on about their aches and pains and, we have to rush out to pick the kids from school or tuition. It is so boring when they repeat their same old ailments week after week. We get annoyed when they are too stubborn to listen to our advise. They keep eating the things they are not suppose to,...what do the doctors know? What is wrong with this picture?
We grew up and they grew old, thats what happened ! We grew stronger and got busier and they grew tired and got slower. We have our kids at home and they lost all theirs. We work hard to give our kids a good life and a good education while they got bored and lonely cos their kids became global players and moved away.
The good news is that, for some of us it isnt too late to pick up the phone and chat with our parents and visit them. The bad news is that it will happen to us. The million dollar question is....what can we do?
I have no answer to that. If I had I would be on the Oprah show already!
However, I do have some suggestions. Maybe if we live by example, the the kids will follow. If we visit them ( our parents), take them out for dinner, lunch, tea or for shopping, keep them involved in our kids lives and ours, by our words and deeds show the kids how important they are, to be loved and respected, then maybe, when it is our turn, our kids will remember us not as old suitcases to be kept away in the attic, out of sight out of mind, but as their loving parents who have nurtured them when they needed us most. Dont you think?
I call my mother and father once a week, ....other wise my mum will scold me...hahaha. I am told that girls tend to call home more often then boys. Now you know where that puts me! Girls tend to chat and tell their mums about their day or their activities. Trust me, boys dont. Guess I am doomed huh?
Anyway, to get back to the old lady I was talking about, guess she was so lonely and felt so unloved that dying was a better option than living knowing that your kids dont care. Hell has a place for them !
So to all the parents..... dont do unto your parents what you dont want your kids to do unto you......16th commandment!!!!.
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