I love u my dearest father.....

Dear All,

My cousin sent me this from Australia via email. It was such a touching story it made me cry. Many of us do not realize how blessed we are parents and siblings who care about us. Most parents work hard and save their money so that they can make sure their children have a good life and a good future by making them study and get a good job. How do we pay our parents back. We only think about our selfish needs and take things for granted. Some even go to the extent of taking everything that their parents own. Some, once they get married, they forget about the sacrifices that their parents made. Instead, they listen to their wives or husbands and ignore their parents. Hopefully, this story will change your mind and the way you treat your parents.

"My dad only had one eye. I hated him... He was such an embarrassment. He cooked for students & teachers to support the family.
 

There was this one day during elementary school where my dad came to say hello to me. I was so embarrassed.

How could he do this to me? I ignored him, threw him a hateful look and ran out. The next day at school one of my classmates said, "EEEE, your dad only has one eye!". I wanted to bury myself. I also wanted my dad to just disappear. I confronted him that day and said, " If you're only gonna make me a laughing stock, why don't you just die?"

My dad did not respond....

I didn't even stop to think for a second about what I had said, because I was full of anger. I was oblivious to his feelings. I wanted out of that house, and have nothing to do with him. So I studied real hard, got a chance to go abroad to study. Then, I got married. I bought a house of my own. I had kids of my own. I was happy with my life, my kids and the comforts.

Then one day, my father came to visit me. He hadn't seen me in years and he didn't even meet his Grandchildren. When he stood by the door, my children laughed at him, and I yelled at Him for coming over uninvited. I screamed at him, "How dare you come to my house and scare my Children!"GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!!!"

And to this, my father quietly answered, "Oh, I'm so sorry. I may have gotten the wrong address," And he disappeared out of sight.
 

One day, a letter regarding a school reunion came to my house. So I lied to my wife that I was going on a business trip. After the reunion, I went to the old shack just out of curiosity. My neighbors said that he died. I did not shed a single tear. They handed me a letter that he had wanted me to have.

"My dearest son,

I think of you all the time. I'm sorry that I came to your house and scared your children. I was so glad when I heard you were coming for the reunion. But I may not be able to even get out of bed to see you.
 

I'm sorry that I was a constant embarrassment to you when you were Growing up you see........when you were very little, you got into an accident, and lost your eye.
 

As a father, I couldn't stand watching you. Having to grow up with one eye so I gave you mine. I was so proud of my son who was seeing a whole new world for me, in my place, with that eye.

With all my love to you,

Your father.

Always tell someone you care that you love them because you never know what day will be their last, or your own.

Always seek to resolve your problems or disagreements with loved ones because if either of you should pass on before, the one who is left alive will have the rest of their life to ponder those unresolved feelings but will never find closure. And closure usually brings Peace... ."

Love All, Serve All. God Bless our Parents! Happy Belated Father's Day!

Cheers,

Mark

Remove the Clutter n Save Money!

Dear Friends,

I recently sold off my house and I had about one month plus to vacate the whole house. I did not realize how much of clutter I had in my house. I am a hoarder by nature as well as a sentimental guy. I had kept Birthday cards given by friends, I kept souvenirs I bought from my trips, and also tried to have a collection of toys which I thought might become a collectors item. I even kept almost all my essays which I wrote in University as well as my text books. Plus, I liked the idea of having library in my house. But I had no quality control. I kept the books that were outdated. And I bought numerous booked which I bought but never read and some even unwrapped. What a utter waste of money. There were clothes that I bought which were never used or used only a few times. Of course I had my favorites which I have kept for more than 15 years like the t-shirt from Hawaii and I kept using them over and over again. 

My wife and I were frustrated at the amount of things we had to throw away. Actually, it was more me than my wife who was sad for having to throw away the things even though I may never ever use them..  We realized how much money we could have saved if we had reduced the clutter by not buying more things until you need it.By not buying things unless you need them, you can see what you have without having to keep buying more of the same stuff like books and clothes. I had two copies of Robert Kiyosaki's "Retire Young, Retire Rich" worth a total of S$40. Guess who got Richer?

If you have not used something more than 6 months, most likely you may not have any use for it. Throw it away or if it can be used by someone else, recycle it by passing it on to others or giving it away to Salvation Army. If you have babies clothes then pass it to friends who have new babies. Babies clothes are expensive to buy and you can save a ton of money by using "used" clothes some of which may be new. Babies need bigger sized clothes every 3 to six months. Do not waste money new and expensive clothes.Give away books to those who like to read books.There are many organizations like Churches and World Vision who collect books and toys to be sent overseas for orphanages. Try to do a monthly, quarterly or 6 monthly "Spring Cleaning" so that you can get rid of unwanted things on a regular basis rather than doing it like when you are moving house.

Remove Clutter! Recycle usable things! Buy only what you need and save money! You will probably be able to pay for a holiday somewhere. :-)


Cheers,
Mark