five year old son waiting for her at the door.
SON: 'Mummy, may I ask you a question?'
MUM: 'Sure' replied the woman.
SON: 'Mummy, how much do you make an hour?'
MUM: 'That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?' the
woman said angrily.
SON: 'I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an
hour?'
MUM: 'If you must know, I make R 50 an hour.'
SON: 'Oh,' the little boy replied, with his head down.
SON: 'Mummy, may I please borrow R 25?'
The mother was furious, '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. Think about why
you are being so selfish. I don't work hard everyday for such childish
frivolities.'
The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door..
The woman sat down and started to get even angrier about the little
boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some
money?
After about an hour or so, the woman had calmed down , and started to
think:
Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that R25.00 and
she really didn't ask for money very often.The woman went to the door
of the little boy's room and opened the door.
'Are you asleep, son?' She asked.
'No Mummy, I'm awake,' replied the boy.
'I have been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier' said the
woman. 'It is been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you.
Here's the R25 you asked for.'
The little boy sat straight up, smiling. 'Oh, thank you Mummy!' he
yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up
bills.
The woman saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry
again.
The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his
mother.
'Why do you want more money if you already have some?' the mother
grumbled.
'Because I didn't have enough, but now I do,' the little boy replied.
'Mummy, I have R50 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come
home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.'
The mother was crushed. She put his arms around her little son, and she
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 R50 worth of your time with someone you love.
If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily
replace us in a matter of hours. But the family & friends we leave
behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.
