LETTER FROM A MOTHER TO A 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 st
"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 st
ory 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 offere
d 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.
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 offere
d 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.
4 comments:
It is all too easy to be impatient with the elderly. This piece of writing reminds us all to exercise both patience and love in our dealings with old people - especially our nearest and dearest. Natural deaparture from this life will usually involve a slowing down over months or years, like a candle flame shortening. Thank you for posting this.
It was just this very morning that I felt my hands begin to stiffen and ache.
It's a timely reminder to us all, I think, YP, especially given the way the elderly are so often viewed in this country. We just don't respect and value our elders as they do in some cultures.
It creeps up on us all, Cro!
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