DAY 87: Time

I would like to thank one of my close friends for sharing this with me.  Reading through it, one cannot help but re-examine one’s own outlook on life.

SON: "Daddy, may I ask you a question?"

DAD: "Yeah sure, what is it?"

SON: "Daddy, how much do you make an hour?"

DAD: "That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?"

SON: "I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?"

DAD: "If you must know, I make € 100 an hour."

SON: "Oh!” (With his head down)

SON: "Daddy, may I please borrow € 50?"

The father was furious.

DAD: "If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I work hard every day and will not tolerate such childish behaviour."

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door. The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?

After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think:

Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that € 50 – after all, he really didn't ask for money very often. The man went to the door of the little boy's room, opened the door and entered.

DAD: "Are you asleep, son?"

SON: "No daddy, I'm awake".

DAD: "I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier. It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the € 50 you asked for."

The little boy sat straight up, smiling.

SON: "Oh, thank you daddy!"

Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills. The man saw that his son already had money, and started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out the money, and then looked up at his father.

DAD: "Why do you want more money if you already have some?"

SON: "Because I didn't have enough, but now I do. I have € 100 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you."

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness.

This is a short reminder to all of those individuals working hard in life. We often allow time to slip through our fingers without having spent some of it with those who really matter to us.

If we died tomorrow, the company that we were working for would easily replace us in a matter of days – no one is indispensible.  The family and friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the remainder of their lives. And come to think of it, we invest more of our time into our work than our family.

Weight for me tomorrow. Paul

Paul Lambis is the author of “Where is Home?” – A journey of hilarious contrasts. 
For more information on Paul Lambis, and to order his book online,
visit www.paul-lambis.com