A FLOWER FROM
HEAVEN...
A
Date
After 21 years
of marriage, my wife wanted me to take
another woman
out to dinner and a movie. She said I
love you but I
know this other woman loves you and
would love to
spend some time with you.
The other
woman that my wife wanted me to visit was my
MOTHER, who
has been a widow for 19 years, but the
demands of my
work and my three children had made it
possible to
visit her only occasionally.
That night I
called to invite her to go out for dinner
and a
movie.
"What's wrong,
are you well," she asked? My mother is
the type of
woman who suspects that a late night call
or
a surprise invitation is a sign of bad news.
"I
thought that it would be pleasant to be with you,"
I
responded.
"Just the two of us."
She thought
about it for a moment, and then said, "I
would like
that very much."
That Friday
after work, as I drove over to pick her up
I
was a bit nervous. When I arrived at her house,
I
noticed that
she, too, seemed to be nervous about our
date. She
waited in the door with her coat on. She had
curled her
hair and was wearing the dress that she had
worn to
celebrate her last wedding anniversary.
She smiled
from a face that was as radiant as an
angel's.
"I
told my friends that I was going to go out with
my
son, and they
were impressed, "she said, as she got
into the car.
"They can't wait to hear about our
meeting". We
went to a restaurant that, although not
elegant, was
very nice and cozy. My mother took my
arm as if she
were the First Lady. After we sat down,
I
had to read the menu. Large print. Half way
through
the entries, I
lifted my eyes and saw Mom sitting
there staring
at me. A nostalgic smile was on her lips.
"It was I who
used to have to read the menu when you
were small,"
she said.
"Then it's
time that you relax and let me return the
favor," I
responded.
During the
dinner, we had an agreeable conversation -
nothing
extraordinary, but catching up on recent
events of each
other's life. We talked so much that we
missed the
movie.
As
we arrived at her house later, she said, "I'll
go
out with you
again, but only if you let me invite
you." I
agreed.
"How was your
dinner date?" asked my wife when I got
home. "Very
nice. Much more so than I could have
imagined," I
answered.
A
few days later, my mother died of a massive
heart
attack. It
happened so suddenly that I didn't have time to
do
anything for
her.
Some time
later, I received an envelope with a copy
of
a restaurant receipt from the same place mother
and
I
had dined.
An
attached note said: "I paid this bill in advance.
I
wasn't sure
that I could be there; but nevertheless, I
paid for two
plates - one for you and the other for
your wife. You
will never know what that night meant
for me. I love
you, son."
At
that moment, I understood the importance of
saying
in
time: "I LOVE YOU!" and to give our loved ones
the
time that they
deserve. Nothing in life is more
important than
God and your family. Give them the
time they
deserve, because these things cannot be put
off till "some
other time."
Pass this
along to everyone with an aging parent, to a
child, to an
adult, to anyone with a parent.