F A M I L Y I ran into a stranger as he passed by, "Oh excuse me please" was my reply. He said, "Please excuse me too; I wasn't watching for you." We were very polite, this stranger and I. We went on our way and we said goodbye. But at home a different story is told, How we treat our loved ones, young and old. Later that day, cooking the evening meal, My son stood beside me very still. When I turned, I nearly knocked him down. "Move out of the way," I said with a frown. He walked away, his little heart broken. I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken. While I lay awake in bed, God's still small voice came to me and said, "While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use, but the family you love, you seem to abuse. Go and look on the kitchen floor, You'll find some flowers there by the door. Those are the flowers he brought for you. He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue. He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise, you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes." By this time, I felt very small, And now my tears began to fall. I quietly went and knelt by his bed; "Wake up, little one, wake up," I said. "Are these the flowers you picked for me?" He smiled, "I found 'em, out by the tree. I picked 'em because they're pretty like you. I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue." I said, "Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today; I shouldn't have yelled at you that way." He said, "Oh, Mom, that's okay. I love you anyway." I said, "Son, I love you too, and I do like the flowers, especially the blue." FAMILY Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family we left behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than into our own family, an unwise investment indeed, don't you think? So what is behind the story? Do you know what the word FAMILY means? FAMILY = (F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER (I) (L)OVE (Y)OU
A Great Truth, Poetically Expressed Meena, The poem on family focussing on the fact that we take relationship for granted and don't even extend the courtesy we show to total strangers simply rends the heart. How many times we have shouted at our near and dear simply because they have nowhere to go and nobody else to love? For those who have eyes your poem is an eye opener. sridhar
a good one Dear Meena A good one on Family. It is said that the best things in life are not 'things'...family is one such best thing..which is not a 'thing'. Parents and children together make a family, but most parents get so busy trying to give to their children what they themselves never had as children, that they forget to give them what they do have at all times ..'love and time'. " There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children...one is ROOTS and the other is WINGS..." Long live loving families...where is there is mutual love between parents and children. ambika
Family........... Dear Ambika, Glad u liked my mail and thanks for ur lovely reply. I sincerely agree with u. when I moved to Mysore from Blore and quit my job to take care of my hubby and kid; a few colleagues of mine thought I'm crazy to select family life for a handsome pay cheque. But I knew what I was doing and today when I see my daughter and my Hubby so happy to see me at home, I tell u nothing can give u this feeling of peace, security and happiness. Some even think spending time with family is a waste and for most of them time is money and they don't wanna put that on family........ I only hope more people understand how important it is to spend time with their family.. and to treat each other with respect.....
Dear meena, Great post. I admit i also do these same mistakes with my kids and family and later regret a lot.. will surely try to get rid of this habit. A real eye opener.
