Be filial to your elders

Grandma came to stay with us before the Lunar New Year, and it is been four months now. My second uncle still has not come to pick her up. Grandma said she wanted to spend the New Year with us, and I persuaded my husband to let her stay and have a peaceful holiday.

But my son, being so immature, asked Grandma while watching TV the other day, "Grandma, when are you leaving?"

Grandma smiled shyly to hide her embarrassment and whispered, "I will leave when your second uncle comes to pick me up."

Then my son pressed on, "What if your second uncle never comes?"

I saw this from the kitchen and quickly called my son back to his room, telling him he should not talk to elders like that—it hurts Grandma's feelings so much. The son, looking aggrieved, explained, "I overheard Dad talking to Uncle on the phone. Uncle said, 'Since Grandma does not want to come to our house, she can stay with you if she wants. I am busy lately.' Dad was so angry he was pacing back and forth in the living room, that is why I asked."

From then on, Grandma became extremely reserved. She did not dare touch her chopsticks while eating, so I had to proactively put food on her plate; otherwise, she would rather just eat plain rice than offer any food.

Last night, I was getting ready for bed when I suddenly heard something break in the kitchen. We rushed out to see what was happening. The kitchen was pitch black. My husband turned on the living room light and saw Grandma standing helplessly in the kitchen. My husband could not help but get angry: "What are you doing in the middle of the night? Why are you not sleeping? Can you not turn on the light if you are looking for something? What if you fall and hurt yourself?"

Grandma was a little embarrassed and explained softly, "I did not mean to. I was a little hungry and wanted to find something to eat. I did not turn on the light because I was afraid of disturbing you, but I still woke you up..."

My husband continued, "Then why did you not eat more when you were eating? Nobody stopped you. Now you are causing this mess, not letting anyone have any peace and quiet. No wonder Uncle did not want to pick you up!"

Seeing Grandma's helpless expression, I quickly pushed my husband back into the bedroom, then pulled Grandma to the dining table, heated up some milk for her, and got her some peach shortbread. Grandma held the shortbread in one hand and caught the crumbs with the other, afraid of getting the table and floor dirty; in the end, she even licked the crumbs off her hands. It was truly heartbreaking to see her like that. Back in the bedroom, I asked my husband, "How could you talk like that? She is your own grandmother!"

My husband shouted, "I am not angry at Grandma, I am angry at my second uncle and third aunt! Mom and Dad passed away early, so taking care of Grandma is the responsibility of the older generation. I said before the New Year that I would send Grandma back home, but you said she wanted to spend the New Year with us. Now my second uncle is going back on his word, and who knows, my third aunt might do the same!"

I gestured for my husband to lower his voice so Grandma would not hear, and then advised him, "Do not worry about what others do. My second aunt has a strange temper; Grandma will be fine at her house." "She will definitely suffer; my aunt has it tough too, she has to take care of her in-laws. We are young, it is fine for Grandma to stay a few more days, we do not need her for a living (it will not even cost us a few thousand extra NT dollars a month). Besides, our sons learn from us, if we are not filial to our elders, will our sons be filial to us in the future?"

My husband thought for a moment, then muttered, "Okay, okay, I am not a petty person. Now that you say it, I have come to terms with it, I will listen to you."

Later, I told Grandma about this decision, and she smiled so happily. I think she must really like living here. We will all grow old one day, it is really very important to do our best in the present and set a good example for future generations.

do not really abandon your elders because other people are also watching you that you may not really notice their existence .