cakap cakap...ahhhh life!

Early this week I received a letter from my grand daughter Isabel – five years old – living in Toronto. I have not seen her for over three years and I miss her so very much. It started with “ Dear Yaya and Tok… …Yaya is what she calls her Grandmother and Tok of course is me. She tells us that “I like you in the whole wide universe!”….and those words brings back to me memories of how much I love and miss my own parents…gone from my life many years ago. My heart aches for them and memories of times long past plays in my head.  

What most of us would do or give to have our parents back in or life…and yet how many times have we not treated our parents with the reverence, respect and love that they deserve. Me included! These days those thoughts guide me in my life….no... not in how I want my children to treat me but in the ways I treat them. For I remember that in the time that I had with my parents there are not many times when I sat down to think of what they meant to me. For a start I never remembered a time when I even gave one cent to my parents from the money that I earned. Not that they needed it but I guess when I think of it now, what matters is that I took the effort to tell them thank you for all that I have done for me. And they have done a lot!

Most of all they have turned me into a good person. I have my faults and there have been many things I should have not done to others in my past life but I know that in my heart I am good. I am comfortable with the person I am. I give thanks to my father and mother for giving me the ability to understand what is important and what are precious in my life. My wife and my children comes first – no matter what. But that does not mean that I want them to be the person I want them to be….no…what matters is that they are happy with who and what they are. Because I love my daughter so very much I accept that she wants to live in Canada …even if that means she is so far away. I am happy that she is happy. And I am grateful that she has a wonderful husband – Emmett – and two lovely daughters…even if there are so far away from me.

Where is all this going….just this.

For those of you who still have family with you….your parents, your own family…all close to you….go spend some time with them this weekend. Spend time with your wife. Think of those days when you first met and fell in love. Think of the good times and the laughter you shared. Yes it might have been a long time ago but you and her are still the same person…only time have passed…and why should you let time take away love? Why should you allow anyone else come into your life and break up what you and your wife has shared for so many long years? Work at keeping your marriage together. Nothing….nothing is worth the break up of any marriage…and for this lesson in life I am grateful to my parents as I learned from watching at how they respected and loved each other. Take it from me….when you hit sixty six as I did this year, nothing beats the physical nearness and love of someone you love. If at sixty six you do not have the love of someone you too love…what else do you have?       

Me and my better half....the good looking guy is me!