IF you are a regular reader of this column, you will realise that it is not always about the breaking news of the week or local politics.
It’s a column which I hope informs sometimes, inspires occasionally and most importantly gets you to pause and consider.
It’s my view as a common man, not that of the paper or anyone else’s opinion.
The following was written by someone else, and it made me pause when it was shared to my Facebook page.
SON: “Daddy, may I ask you a question?”
DAD: “Yeah sure, what is it?”
SON: “Daddy, how much do you make an hour?”
DAD: “That’s none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?”
SON: “I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?”
DAD: “If you must know, I make $100 an hour.”
SON: “Oh! (With his head down).
SON: “Daddy, may I please borrow $50?”
The father was furious.
DAD: “If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed.”
The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.
After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think: ‘Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $50 and he had never asked for money before.’
The man went to the door of the little boy’s room and opened it.
DAD: “Are you asleep, son?”
SON: “No daddy, I’m awake”.
DAD: “I’ve been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier. It’s been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here’s the $50 you asked for.”
The little boy sat straight up, smiling.
SON: “Oh, thank you daddy!”
Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills. The man saw that the boy already had money and started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.
DAD: “Why do you want more money if you already have some?”
SON: “Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do. Daddy, I have $100 now. Can I buy an hour of your time?
Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to play in the park with you.”
The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness.
It’s just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life.
We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts.
Do remember to share that $100 worth of your time with someone you love?
If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for would replace us in a matter of days.
But the family and friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives and come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than to our family.
Some things are more important.
= Dad Republic
