A friend of mine sent this in an email to me today and I wanted to share it with you all... Quite touchy....

"Have you ever watched your parents while they are asleep? Your ather's body, once big and strong but now, the big is withered and the strong is weaker. Wisps of Gray peek out from his hair, wrinkles now "Scar" his orehead and ace. This man works hard everyday and would sacrifice anything to make sure his family is provided for and his children get the best education possible.
Or how about your mother, whose soft hands once cuddled and held you close when you were a baby? Now, those hands are dry and rough, bearing evidence of the challenges she faced just for us. This woman takes care of our daily needs, constantly nagging and scolding us because of her love for us. But sadly, we often misconstrue her love as control and unfairness.

I have never thought of watching my parents whule they slept; I watch my child, other children, but NEVER my parents. But after reading this message, I realised that there was indeed much truth in it. In fact, my parents don't have to be asleep for me to realise that they have aged. Just looking at my mother walk tells me that her legs are not as strong as they were before. Or hearing her ask me for help with that flower pot in the garden, one she used to be able to push and drag around teh garden without my help. Or watching my dad lift a 10kg bag of rice, the bag he could once carry even two of but now struggles with just one.

What do all these observations tell me? Yes, my parents have aged and they are aging just as I'm aging. But as I age towards my best years, and become stronger, they are becoming weaker. There were once teh care givers and we the recievers but not those roles have reversed. Like it or not, want it or not, this is life.

I suppose I have subconsciously thought that my parents will always be with me, never growing old. It took me this message to realise that my parentsa re not immortal. That they too, will one day leave the world and me. Until then, I have to make good use of our time together. "

Here's to all our parents... We LOVE YOU

Very emotional post. Brought tears to my eyes.

As my wife and I got into the elevator of a mall with our little one in the stroller, an aged lady pushed her even older Mother in a wheelchair and got in with us. The Mother remarked "I have a great grand child that age".

That...was life in the capsule of an elevator. Our child in the stroller. A very very old lady in a wheelchair. We saw 2 ends of life's spectrum in the 2 second ride up.

As my own Grandfather got older and was unable to perform the most mundane tasks, he once told me "Old age is second childhood". Whether that's a quote from elsewhere I don't know. But I remember those words every step of the way.

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If you have a gun, you can rob a bank.
If you have a bank, you can rob everyone.
- Bill Maher