Saturday, May 22, 2010

Warning: Don't do this to your helpless old folks (Shame On You!)

[Interframe: I've been tuning in to Youtube lately and watched a few hilarious parodies. Here's one which is worth watching --> Sherry Vine and Peppermint Telephone parody. Thanks to my former student Danial for sharing this link in facebook. Enjoy~ XD]


I think besides having a vow between husband and wife, parents and children should make their vows too. Parents and their children should make a vow to stick together and help each other in times of poor and in times of rich, in sickness and in health, and whenever and wherever the children and parents should be there for each other. Or else, the children may just leave the parents to go helpless on their own. Mind you, I am not telling this because I am a good daughter, lol, I am actually far from good, it may be more accurate if you call me the black sheep of the family, but there's one thing I vow I am never going to do to my folks no matter how bad I am going to be in the future *cross fingers*. I am not going to let them ask for favours from others when I am around. I mean one favour that I myself could do for them in a snap of a finger. Ahem, like giving a ride to your parents to church on Sundays? That's one easy thing to do right? Aww, don't tell me about traffic jam because the traffic jam in Sibu won't last longer than 30 minutes. And we rarely have traffic jam on Sundays because it's a day of rest.

So today, like any other Sunday at my hometown, I went to the church with my family. And as usual, after church, we would wait for my father at the parking lot area after the Mass because my father had a duty as a warden at the Sacred Heart cathedral. And as usual, like other Sundays, my cousin, a mother of three who is in her early 40's would be with us to visit the Toto + Magnum 4d + Sarawak turf premises (ahem) together with my mother, so she would join us while waiting for her kids to finish their Sunday classes. Mind you, lol, it's their 'social activity' every weekend. So it's a full house for our Myvi car (Two passengers in front, four passengers at the backseat). So while the five of us (which consists of my mother, my cousin, and my two sisters and I) waited for my father at the parking lot area, suddenly we received a phone call from my father. He said one of his friends wanted to hitch a ride with us. We were like what? That was impossible since it was a full house there. 6 people Myvi's maximum capacity.

But my father said his friend insisted, so we had no say in this. Then when his friend appeared, we just kept quiet. It's Mr Peter (bukan nama sebenar). He was one helpless friend of my father since he could not drive and he was not in a good health condition. Mr Peter was one friend who really needed help so we did not mind to give him a ride. Since our car did not have enough capacity for all of us, my mother suggested that we ride in my cousin's car to visit the 4d outlets and my father send Mr Peter back to his house.

After my father had lunch with Mr Peter and sent Mr Peter back to his house, we learned from my father that Mr Peter did not have any transportation to go back to his house, so he desperately needed to ask for my father's favour. Then, we were really curious to know who sent Mr Peter to church this morning, and was really mad to learn that he took a taxi to church this morning. I mean what the heck? Where's his son? Where's his family? Couldn't they spare a little time off to send him to church? Or better go to church with him? When my father sent him back, he asked Mr Peter if there was anybody at home and he answered that his daughter in-law was in. (-_-")

If you had known Mr Peter, he had not always been like this. It was all due to the road accident he had on year 2008, during Easter day. He, his wife and his youngest son's girlfriend were on the road for a long journey ride back from Kuching to Sibu. They had just attended the Easter Sunday Mass at Kuching and they were on their way back to Sibu. Mr Peter was the driver, his wife seated at the front left passenger seat while the son's girlfriend was seated at the backseat. Then when Mr Peter tried to overtake a car in front of him at the Sarikei-Sibu road area, he lost control of his car and it ran into a Kancil from the opposite direction and BAM! The accident happened. It was a sad accident because this accident took his wife's life away.

I remember his late wife was a very friendly lady and he and his wife both were really active servers at the cathedral; they were the members of the Holy Trinity choir and also serve as the church wardens. But after the accident, the wife was gone, and Mr Peter survived but was admitted to the ICU. He was in a very serious condition and luckily he did survived. And if you're wondering about what happened to his youngest son's girlfriend, you can heave a sigh of relief because she survived and her condition was not serious. She was not that affected by the accident. Perhaps a small injury. But Mr Peter, though recovering, he was mentally affected. He was a little senile after the accident. He needed his children's care and protection as his wife had passed away, there was nobody else he could depend on but his children. He could not drive as he was physically incapable plus his licence was revoked due to the accident.

Sad but true, his eldest son who lived with him was not a regular church-goer because he was married to a non-Catholic. And if he wasn't a person who goes to the church weekly, at least he could send his father to attend the Mass right? And fetch him back right? And it should not be an excuse that he no longer attend the church so he could not send his father to the church. I mean, OMG, It's your FATHER! And he's not in a healthy condition!! I know I make you sound so bad here but I think it's better for you to send him to the church without accompanying him than to let your father go to the church ALONE by taxi. It sounds like your father was living alone when in fact he was living with your family. Though you father is not that old in terms of age, his capability does not equalize his age anymore. You should know better.

As a disobedient daughter myself, it might sound funny that I am telling others to be an obedient child. But actually, you do not need to be an obedient child to do the things above, you just need to be a caring child. It's sad that our parents had become less and less of our priorities when we no longer depend on them.

So once again, I vow that I will not do this thing to my parents. I will not let them ask for favour from others when I am still alive and kicking to help them myself - for the sole reason that I am their daugther and they deserved more than what I could offer them. And imagine what my sisters would do to me if I dare to do this to my parents... Ooooh, creepy.

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