Taking care of elderly parents is a blessing.

Parents worked hard to earn money to raise their children, caring for them from meals to sleep, hoping they would grow up healthy, mature, and have a comfortable life. In their old age, even if parents don't expect anything from their children, as children, we should at least bring them small joys through our care, because with each passing day, the time we have left with them is getting shorter…

Living with my children, I still have to eat takeout meals.

At over 70 years old, Mr. Nguyen Hieu (District 1, Ho Chi Minh City) wanders to an alley on Cong Quynh Street every lunchtime to buy a boxed meal to take home. On cool days, he sits at the roadside stalls, finishes his plate of rice, and then goes home. Eating at a stall offers a lively street atmosphere, a stark contrast to eating alone in his cold kitchen at home, which he also enjoys.

Mr. Hieu single-handedly raised his two sons after his wife tragically passed away in a traffic accident. Now, both of his sons are grown up; one is working abroad under a labor cooperation program. He lives with his youngest son, who is married and has a stable job with his wife at the same company.

Every morning, his son or daughter-in-law buys him a packet of sticky rice, a loaf of bread, or a box of steamed rice rolls for breakfast, and then they go out and don't return until late at night. As a result, even with a son and daughter-in-law, Mr. Hieu still has to eat boxed meals for lunch and dinner every day. "Eating is necessary, but not the most important thing. I think the most important thing at this age is the care of loved ones, or having someone to keep me company," Mr. Hieu said.

However, he also understood the heavy responsibilities that youth placed on his son's shoulders, juggling work and a small family with countless worries and pressures. Therefore, he didn't demand anything from his son; he was simply happy that his son and his wife had stable jobs and lives.

Instructions for parents on using electronic devices to read daily news. Photo: DUNG PHUONG

Mr. Hieu hopes that God will grant him enough health to take care of himself until his death without burdening his children or grandchildren; that would be enough! Despite saying this, Mr. Hieu can't help but feel a pang of sadness when he sees families with all their members gathered around a warm meal, eating and chatting merrily.

The feelings of a child far away.

Ms. Tien (District 3, Ho Chi Minh City) got married and bought a house in the city. Her family's economic situation is relatively stable with a home-based business, but unfortunately, due to the nature of her work, Ms. Tien cannot visit her elderly mother often. She constantly feels guilty for not being close to her mother, not massaging her hands and feet when she's unwell; a few words of inquiry and some money transfers are not enough to alleviate her filial duty.

Bringing her mother to live with them would have been easy, but her mother was a woman who had spent her whole life working in the gardens of her hometown, and she was afraid to go anywhere in the unfamiliar city. Therefore, her mother arrived one day and insisted on going back the next, complaining of boredom. Meanwhile, Tien wanted to wait until the weekend when she had less work to take her mother out to explore and enjoy delicious food.

Luckily, Tien's husband is very understanding. He set up a garden on the rooftop using styrofoam containers, and then asked his mother-in-law to come up and guide him on how to grow clean vegetables and make organic fertilizer for the plants... Thanks to this, Tien's mother no longer felt lonely or idle and stayed longer. Tien then had the opportunity to spend more time with her mother, confiding in her about everything, and the whole family enjoyed warm meals with clean, healthy vegetables.

Ms. Minh Tuyen (living in Canada) wasn't as fortunate as Ms. Tien in having her mother visit. Ms. Tuyen's mother couldn't travel long distances by plane, so the only way to be close to her is by returning to Vietnam. She tries to arrange a trip back once a year. Every time she calculates her mother's age, her heart aches, wondering how many more times she'll get to see her.

A monk at the temple she often visited advised her that simply living a joyful and happy life was a way of showing filial piety. He said that this was what parents hoped for from their children, and that it wasn't necessarily about being close to them or receiving extravagant material gifts… That advice made her feel a little lighter.

In the yoga class I'm attending, everyone knows about the filial piety of Ms. Mai (from Binh Thanh District). Ms. Mai is over 60 years old and lives with her 85-year-old mother. She says her daily routine is taking care of her elderly mother. From cooking, bathing, preparing milk, chatting, to watching movies together… it's the same every day. When her mother is healthy enough, she rents a car for the two of them to go on a short beach vacation .

She said that the longest time she spent away from her mother was an hour each day practicing yoga; otherwise, she was always by her side. Elderly people are clumsy and prone to falls or sudden illnesses, so they always need someone close by. Fortunately, Mai lived alone, so when she reached retirement age, she had no other commitments, allowing her to wholeheartedly dedicate her time to caring for her elderly mother. That was also a blessing for her. Because many people don't even have the good fortune to be close to their parents, and when their parents pass away, they are tormented by belated regrets.

Every family is different, and I believe that any adult child can do the simple but essential thing of taking care of their parents' meals, showing concern and visiting them, and making the most of their time to eat family meals with them while they still have the opportunity.

ANH HUONG

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/duoc-cham-care-cha-me-gia-la-hanh-phuc-post761230.html