The man
came home from work late again, tired and irritated, to find his 5 year old son
waiting for him at the door.
“Daddy,
may I ask you a question? “Yeah, sure, what is it?” – replied the man. “Daddy,
how much money do you make an hour?” “That’s none of your business! What makes
you ask such a thing?” – the man said angrily.
“I just
want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?” – pleaded the
little boy. “If you must know, I make $20 an hour.” “Oh,” the little boy
replied, head bowed. Looking up, he said, “Daddy, may I borrow $10 please?”
The
father was furious. “If the only reason you wanted to know how much money I
make is just so you can borrow some 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’re being so selfish. I work long, hard hour’s everyday and don’t have time
for such childish games.”
The
little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door. The man sat down and
started to get even madder about the little boy’s questioning. How dare he ask
such questions only to get some money.
After
an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think he may have been a
little hard on his son. Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with
that $10 and he really didn’t ask for money very often. The man went to the
door of the little boy’s room and opened the door.
“Are
you asleep son?” – he asked. “No daddy, I’m awake.” – replied the boy
“I’ve
been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier.” – said the man. “It’s been
a long day and I took my aggravation out on you. Here’s that $10 you asked
for.”
The
little boy sat straight up, beaming. “Oh, thank you daddy!” he yelled. Then,
reaching under his pillow, he pulled out some more crumpled up bills. The man,
seeing the boy already had money, started to get angry again.
The little
boy slowly counted out his money, then looked up at the man. “Why did you want
more money if you already had some?” the father grumbled.
“Because
I didn’t have enough, but now I do.” The little boy replied. “Daddy, I have $20
now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would
like to have dinner with you.” The father was crushed and he put his arms
around his little son.
It’s
just a short reminder to all of us 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 $20
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.
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