Get Well Forever

A few days back one of my friends lost his father. He was working in Perth, Western Australia. The moment he heard of his loss he took a direct flight of Chandigarh, India and came back to see his family. He was devastated not to see his father for the last time and regretted going away from home. Scared of losing the father figure he was lonely and turned into a helpless child. Past memories kept coming to surface and he was melting down into ashes.

When he shared the news with me I was shocked and grief-ridden at the fact that after completing my education I too went away from my family in search of a decent job and now I spend less time with them. I am from Kotdwara, which is nearly 3 hours away from Dehradun and Mussoorie in India.

As my parents are turning old, the time is coming when I should be present caring for them but they push me to succeed in life. Saying me not to worry for them but to care for my health my father keeps the receiver down. How can parents be so giving until the day they are left with nothing.

The Things I Hope For My Parents to Take Care of Them:

Every day I pray for their health and focus on fulfilling all my dreams so one day I give them all the happiness in the world, just like they gave me everything. I too want to be a proud daughter of my proud parents seeing their daughter being happy doing what she loves the most. I don’t want to live in regret for the rest of the life that I was not able to care for them, so I try now to give them more time. Every month I and my brother fly to them and make our best memories caring for them. Visiting them gives me infinite happiness, boosting my energy to work more hard to pursue my dreams and one day bring my parents to live in with me. Just the same as it was when I was a kid.

I am sharing the letter which I wrote for my friend’s beloved dad. Tears were flowing through my eyes while I was writing those words as it felt like I too lost a part of me that day. Please spend more time with your parents. Make the best memories and live a blessed life.

The Letter to My Father:

“Though I never showed my love openly to you I cared for you every single minute Paa! Years have gone by and I am still figuring a way I can make you proud of me. Now that we can never spend time together with your every word in the past has stayed with me and I am figuring out if I could have given you every happiness of life when you were here. Just like you gave me everything since the time I was born I wanted to give you the same and much more. You holding me in your arms promising me to care for me, the same care I wanted to give you one day. But now when you are not with me there has been a void none could ever fill that space ever. I miss you dad!”

A Word of Advice to Support Your Parents:

• Please prioritize your time and out of your busy schedule find time for your family. Help your mother with the daily chores for a few days. Help your father with all the important document works. See if anything they need at home is missing.
• Put emergency numbers on speed dial in your parent’s cell phones. Ask them to call an immediate doctor if things go wrong suddenly. If possible after a certain age ask them to move in with you. So you can care for them also not lose focus in your work. If they don’t agree, keep a help who is ready to care for them 24*7. Plan at least one vacation with them in a year. Start taking them for regular medical check-ups.
• Ask your mother to take up a mammogram to check up on her health. When parents start aging they become like babies. They need extra care because they become fragile with time.
• Buy new clothes for them. As they almost stop shopping for them. Tell them they need to feel new and fresh. Life is to live each day like it is on our birthdays. Make special dishes when you visit them. At least try calling them daily if you live far away.
• Take your kids occasionally to meet them so that they would know how adorable their grandparents are. Life is in living little things with love around people who actually care for us.

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