I was searching, searching!! Searching!! F*** I am getting late. And I can’t find a pair of socks!! Shall I transmit a distress message to Mom? Any normal day I would, But this day was not normal, I had woken up late, showered late, hadn’t ironed my shirt the previous day, took 5 minutes for that, by the time I had my breakfast I could see lightning flashes all around the house, it happens often these days, usually when my parents are angry on me! And now a call would seriously cause thunderstorms, any of which I was not ready to face. But I needed a damn pair of socks. Well, necessity is the mother of invention you see, I had to invent a solution for this problem, and I saw the solution… My Shoe rack!! It was a site to watch, my shoes; old, new, used, worn, torn, everything was there!! When was the last time I cleaned my shoe rack? I don’t remember. But the solution to my problem stood there, my used socks! There were many, I had to make a choice, hygiene or no scolding! I decided to go with the latter! Thanks to Bear Grylls! He had used his used underwear as a cap to save himself from the harsh heat of Africa in the last episode of” MAN vs. WILD”, so I wasn’t doing something different, for a moment I felt great about myself. They preach us for hours in engineering about problem-solving techniques. I had found a solution in minutes. But then, when I just thought that I had pulled it off nice and clean, I was hit by the first surface to air missile! Damn! My mom asked me, “Wearing the old socks again?” How on earth does she know that? Crap man! You shouldn’t have your parents in the medical field! She would be lecturing about hygiene! But wait! Who said her about the sock anyways? I gave her a very innocent baby look! As if I was not getting her point! She again said, “Enough is enough, how many times should I tell you to put your dresses in the washing machine bin? You don’t learn, do you?” Well, was this her plan now??I was angry!!
“Did you hide my socks? Come on!! You can’t be so mean!! I am getting late” I said!!
“You have 12 pairs of socks, and 11 of them are lying there, unwashed, you didn’t put it for washing, so they won’t be washed anymore if they are not found in the washing machine bin! Same will be the case with all your dresses anymore”. Now take this “. This was a fresh pair I realized that I have 12 pairs of socks then! Lol! I didn’t know a thing about myself, the number of dresses that I had, My mom would even have the count of underwears I have. I just didn’t tell anything, I was getting late. I said her “bye” and left. Wait, I went to the door, just to realize I didn’t have my bike keys! Where did I drop it now? I was about to step back into home, I heard dad from the portico, “I have the keys, you had left it in the sofa!”, I grinned at him, the way I used to do since I was a small kid symbolizing gratitude. And I rode silently, But my mind was not silent. There was this thought coming through my mind! Where would I be, if I was not born to my parents? What would I be doing now?
This is not just my story. It’s the story of most of us. Every morning I wake up to see hot water ready for the bath, as a kid, I even saw paste on my brush ready. My towel was always available on the bed post. My school bag was packed. My dress for the day always ironed and kept ready, And I had breakfast ready in time, when I ran to the dining table, I never had to complain about an empty shaving foam bottle, or an empty toothpaste , I never slipped in my bathroom, I haven’t had a day where hand wash was not available in toilet !! I always have my bed sheets and spreads nice and clean, I don’t fold them, But when I get back home in the evening, I find my bed neat and clean, My phone charger nicely curled up, my earphones placed on my table, my old cell phone always charged. I don’t see dust anywhere in and around my home, I have never been late for work or school. I had always had the best food for my Tiffin box. I wanted to do engineering, I did it, I wanted to do M.tech my parents were fine with it, In every decision of my life my parents have been with me, they are the ones who have taken care of me
I distinctly remember this incident. My first bike accident. My left hand was badly hurt. The skin of my knuckles had peeled off. I couldn’t fold my hands for 15 days, I couldn’t fist it up for a month or so, and every morning I had my dad, or mom plastering it, and every evening preparing saline water to remove sticky cotton from the wound, it was painful for me. But even more, painful for them, my mom would be in tears every time the wound bled. She would feel bad and sorry for me.
I have made mistakes, I have had failures. I have seen friends, I have seen them turn to enemies. But in 24 years of seeing parents, and sister, I have noticed that they have never changed. They have scolded me, they have made me feel bad, but they have always stayed with me in all my bad days. Even today my dad waits at the door when I am late, my mom gets the towel when I get wet in the rain. Dad scolds me saying you are irresponsible, he is tensed about me leading my life once he is gone. I get angry on him, I feel he irritates me, but when I realize he says It for my own good, I feel bad about myself.
Friends remember, we grow up ,we grow older, Dad was once the hero you fantasized of becoming ,he was your role model, mom was the perfect example of girlfriend you wanted to have, today they are old, Dad has turned to be an irritating old man, and mom, the lady who scolds for everything. We don’t have time for their issues, we don’t have time to argue with them. We have our dreams to fulfill, we have our passions to chase, we have our girlfriends and boyfriends who wait for us. We wait for them to text us, we wait for them to talk to us, but we don’t have time to say a formal “Hi, Good morning” to our parents. My mom takes BP tablets, and I don’t know what’s the composition of it. My dad takes painkillers I don’t know why! At times I see him limp, Old age I feel. My girlfriend has a cold and cough, I ask her 10 times to take care of herself, I say her to go to a doctor, But when it comes to my parents, I just don’t have time. I don’t have time take them to a restaurant for a dinner, I haven’t taken them to a movie in years, I have not given them the luxury of having a “Pension trip”, not because of the fact that I can’t afford it, but I never thought about it.
Remember one thing, we were angry on them when they didn’t let us sit on a giant wheel, we were angry on them, when they didn’t buy us the dresses which we wanted, or the toys which we liked. I was angry on them when they said that they couldn’t afford to have a highly paid cricket coach. I was angry on them when they didn’t let me go on a trip with friends. But I saw tears in my dad’s eyes when he couldn’t afford to pay for cricket coaching. I saw him sigh in disappointment when the shoe I liked had a price tag of INR 6000/- on it. I have seen him see the flash of light in my eyes when I used to see the ads of sports shoes, kids playing cricket with full-fledged kits. I had always complained. But I realize now, for him our dreams were important. Yup, we need money to chase our dreams. They provide us, we never try to even think how hard they have worked to earn it, how much of their dreams have just washed away in the rush of fulfilling ours. My dad always had a choice. A luxury sedan, or my engineering, an Ac for his bedroom, or money for my laptop, a pack of cigarettes for him, or chocolates for me, and he always chose me!! Because for him, I was the only dream, my sister was the only princess whom he knew. My mom has always smiled at me whenever I asked anything, but I know she has cried when she couldn’t afford it.
Our parents may not be rich, they may not be able to give us what our friend has. But they will always give us more than what they can really afford! We just don’t realize it because for us it’s just another thing that they bring, and just another gadget to use. Well if you haven’t thought about it till date, think about all these things once, and yeah, when you read this, if you feel that your parents have done so much to you, take your time to talk to them once. Tell them that they are special, tell them that you love them so much. And you care for them. I believe that would be the best gift that you can give to your parents. Achieve great heights, do great work, make them feel proud. Make them feel happy. Life will be wonderful. If you feel that what I said was absurd, it’s ok. Give it some time. Hopefully, this article will be on the net for another 40-50 years. Virtual memories don’t die. Read this article then, when you are a parent, and you have a grown up kid of say 15-25 years. You will realize and relate to this then
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