Us human beings in general tend to take things which are available in abundance around us, for granted. Be it a material possession or an emotional one. Parents for example; We whine and crib with them, we shout and scream at them, we show them our affection and love too (sometimes) but mostly they are taken for granted as we know they are, and they will be there.. But the reality is, they won't be. At some point in time, they will not be around you to support you, to be there for you. This fact is known by everyone but is understood by hardly anyone.. You fight and argue with your parents even hurt them, because you know they will be upset with you for half a day or a day maximum, then they will be back to what they're best at, being a parent. I know they can be a little unfair with us at times too, but we have to admit it, we initiate all the arguments, don't we? Their anger is justified!
All of us have long term plans, and in those plans, your parents are always there, either in the forefront or somewhere in the middle but they are there. Same goes for them, your mother has already imagined you as a doctor or a pilot already even when you are in diapers. And your father has imagined you working in the best multinational company when you are still getting trained to tell when you want to poop!
My father used to say, referring to me, as I was the only and the youngest daughter: 'Iss ke liye tu hum ghar damad dhoondey gein' (we will find a son in law who stays with us), let alone that, he would never see me get married. I used to think, that when I will have a child, for the first 6 months, I will dump him or her in my mother's lap and I will just 'suffer' through the baby-less baby blues while eating lots of ice cream and chocolates (to relax myself ofcourse) and will pat/kiss/hug my child occasionally. I mean how can you take care of that tiny little thing, aren't they too fragile to touch?... Well anyway, that freedom went down the drain too since she won't be there either.
Parents aren't here forever, they might not be there to pat on your shoulder with a proud smile on their face when you have your success story to share. They might not be there to comfort you with a hug or soothing words when you go through failure. A time can come, when you come home from school, college or work and they won't be there waiting for you to ask how your day was. Even the repeated trips that you make to the grocery store as your mother again forgot a few things where as she has sent you three times earlier; well.. believe me, you will miss that too. You will miss when there is no one to say: 'Yeh koi time hai ghar aaney ka?' (Is this the time to come home?) or even the calls which your parents repeatedly make to know about your whereabouts as if you live in a war zone and can be abducted/robbed/killed any moment. You will actually miss when no one is overly concerned for you.
Parents are a blessing and you just can't function properly without them. We might not realize but we don't depend on anyone as much as we depend on them. So everyone who is Blessed to have their parents or one parent around, let them know. Appreciate them for the sole reason that they are your parents and they love you unconditionally.. And let me tell you, they are the only people in your life who can ever love you unconditionally. They might scold you, slap you even and tell you that you are good for nothing, but they love you and there is No doubt about that.
So cherish and respect them while they are still around so that you would never have to regret!
