After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to
take another woman out to dinner and a movie. She said I love you but I know
this other woman loves you and would love to spend some time with you.
take another woman out to dinner and a movie. She said I love you but I know
this other woman loves you and would love to spend some time with you.
The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit
was my MOTHER, who has been a widow for 19 years, but the demands of my work
and my three children had made it possible to visit her occasionally. That
night I called to invite her to go out for dinner and a movie. ‘What’s wrong,
are you well,’ she asked?
was my MOTHER, who has been a widow for 19 years, but the demands of my work
and my three children had made it possible to visit her occasionally. That
night I called to invite her to go out for dinner and a movie. ‘What’s wrong,
are you well,’ she asked?
My mother is the type of woman who suspects that a
late night call or a surprise invitation is a sign of bad news.
late night call or a surprise invitation is a sign of bad news.
‘I thought that it would be pleasant to be with
you,’ I responded.
you,’ I responded.
‘Just the two of us. ‘She thought about it for a
moment, and then said, ‘I would like that very much…That Friday after work, as
I drove over to pick her up I was a bit nervous.
moment, and then said, ‘I would like that very much…That Friday after work, as
I drove over to pick her up I was a bit nervous.
When I arrived at her house, I noticed that she seemed to be nervous about our date. She waited in the door with her coat on… She had curled her hair and was wearing the dress that she had worn to celebrate her last wedding anniversary.
She smiled from a face that was as radiant as an angel’s.
‘I told my friends that I was going to go out with my son, and they were impressed, ‘she said, as she got into the car. ‘They can’t wait to hear about our meeting’.
We went to a restaurant although not elegant, was very nice and cozy. My mother took my arm as if she were the First Lady. After we sat down, I had to read the menu. Large print. Halfway through the entries, I lifted my eyes and saw Mom sitting there staring at me.
A nostalgic smile was on her lips.
‘It was I who used to have to read the menu when you were small,’ she said.
‘Now it’s time for you to relax and let me return the favor,’ I responded.
During the dinner, we had an agreeable conversation – nothing extraordinary, but catching up on recent events of each other’s life.
We talked so much that we missed the movie.
As we arrived at her house later, she said, ‘I’ll go out with you again, but only if you let me invite you.’ I agreed.
‘How was your dinner date?’ asked my wife when I got home.
‘Very nice. Much more than I could have imagined,’ I answered.
A few days later, my mother died of a massive heart attack. It happened so suddenly that I didn’t have time to fulfill my pending desire to accompany her.
Sometime later, I received an envelope with a copy of a restaurant receipt from the same place where my mother and I had dined.
An attached note said: ‘I paid this bill in advance. I wasn’t sure that I could be there; but nevertheless, I paid for two plates – one for you and the other for your wife. You will never know what that night meant for me, I love you, my son.’
At that moment, I understood the importance of saying in time: ‘I LOVE YOU’ and to give our loved ones the time they deserve.
Nothing in life is more important than Good
friends and your family. Give them the time they deserve, because these things
cannot be put off till some other time. Tomorrow is a hope but a uncertainty,
you never know what tomorrow holds for you, so, start from the day that you
have in hand.
friends and your family. Give them the time they deserve, because these things
cannot be put off till some other time. Tomorrow is a hope but a uncertainty,
you never know what tomorrow holds for you, so, start from the day that you
have in hand.
It’s not what you gather, but what you scatter
that tells what kind of life you have lived!
that tells what kind of life you have lived!
