* Letter from a mother to her daughter: “My dear girl, the day you see I’m getting old, I ask you to please be patient, but most of all, try to understand what I’m going through. If when we talk, I repeat the same thing a thousand times, don’t interrupt to say: ‘You said the same thing a minute ago’… Just listen, please. Try to remember the times when you were little and I would read the same story night after night until you would fall asleep. When I don’t want to take a bath, don’t be mad and don’t embarrass me.
Remember when I had to run after you, making excuses and trying to get you to take a shower when you were just a girl? When you see how ignorant I am when it comes to new technology, give me the time to learn and don’t look at me that way… remember, honey, I patiently taught you how to do many things like eating appropriately, getting dressed, combing your hair and dealing with life’s issues every day… the day you see I’m getting old, I ask you to please be patient, but most of all, try to understand what I’m going through.
If I occasionally lose track of what we’re talking about, give me the time to remember, and if I can’t, don’t be nervous, impatient or arrogant. Just know in your heart that the most important thing for me is to be with you. And when my old, tired legs don’t let me move as quickly as before, give me your hand the same way that I offered mine to you when you first walked. When those days come, don’t feel sad… just be with me and understand me while I get to the end of my life with love. I’ll cherish and thank you for the gift of time and joy we shared. With a big smile and the huge love I’ve always had for you, I just want to say, I love you… my darling daughter” – Mum.
* I was shopping when I saw a cashier say to a little boy, “You don’t have enough money to buy this doll.” The little boy asked: ”Uncle, are you sure I don’t have enough money?” I counted his cash and replied, ”You don’t have enough money to buy the doll, my dear.” I asked him who he wished to give this doll to. ‘It’s the doll that my sister wanted so much. I have to give the doll to my mommy so that she can give it to my sister when she goes there. My sister has gone to be with God. Daddy says that mommy is going to see God very soon too, so I thought that she could take the doll with her to give it to my sister.” My heart nearly stopped. The little boy said, ‘I told daddy to tell mommy not to go yet.
I need her to wait until I come back.” Then he showed me a very nice photo of him. He then told me, “I want mommy to take my picture with her so my sister won’t forget me. I wish mommy doesn’t have to leave me, but daddy says she has to go to be with my little sister.” I reached for my wallet and said to the boy, “Suppose we check again, just in case you do have enough money for the doll?” “Okay,” he said. I added some of my money to his without him seeing and we started to count it. There was enough for the doll and even some spare money.
The little boy said, “Thank you God for giving me enough money!” Then he added, “I asked last night before I went to sleep for God to make sure I had enough money to buy this doll, so that mommy could give it to my sister. He heard me! I also wanted to have enough money to buy a white rose for my mommy, but I didn’t dare to ask God for too much. My mommy loves white roses.”
I finished my shopping in a totally different state. I couldn’t get the little boy out of my mind. Then I remembered a local newspaper article which mentioned a drunk man in a truck who hit a car occupied by a young woman and a little girl. The little girl died right away and the mother was left in a coma. The family had to decide whether to pull the plug on the life-sustaining machine because the young woman would not be able to recover. Was this the family of the little boy?
Two days later, I read in the newspaper that the young woman had passed away. I bought a bunch of white roses and I went to the funeral home where the body of the young woman was for people to see and make last wishes before her burial. She was in her coffin, holding a beautiful white rose in her hand with the photo of the little boy and the doll placed over her chest. I left teary-eyed, feeling that my life had changed forever. The love the little boy had for his mother and his sister is hard to imagine. And in a fraction of a second, a drunk driver took all this away from him. Please DO NOT DRINK & DRIVE.
