A wooden bowl - Hope this short story can be your reality check from time to time
A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year old grandson after the his wife passed on. The old man's hands trembles, his eyesight is blurry, and his movement challenging.
The family ate together at the table for the first time. The elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth.
The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. "We must do something about father," said the son. "I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor. Look at the mess and how long he takes to finish his bowl of rice!"
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So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoy their dinner as per usual. That was not an end to the problem. As grandfather broke a bowl accidentally that night, his food was then served in a wooden bowl!
When the family glanced in Grandfather's direction, no one had ever noticed the fought back tear in his corner of the eyes. To make matters worse, the only words the couple had for him were sharp comments when he dropped any of the utensils or spilled food.
The four-year-old watched all of this in silence.
One evening before dinner, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, 'What are you making?'
Just as sweetly, the boy responded, "Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up." The four-year-old smiled and went back to work.
The words struck the parents so hard that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done.
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That evening the husband took Grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the family table. Ever since Grandfather ate every meal together with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.
On a positive note, I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a baseball catcher's mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back. Not everything will go your way, to your preference. A little tolerance helps.
In the selfless child - many things he might have yet to know, yet with his innocence tries to do something in return for his parents' love, only to knock some sense back into his parents.
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Just came back from 2D1N short getaway to Batam and I realised cable skiing on a wake board is really not easy. Starters should really go for knee boarding first. =)
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Received my results for previous term, rather disappointed. No, there's no failed papers, just not desirable marks and grades. Alrightey, time to move on than to harp over it.
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Thoughts of the day: 洋葱像我，我像洋葱。。 =P
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