My Father Worked Hard For Us All His Life: This Is How We Paid Back
( words)
*For representational purpose only.
My father woke up at 5 in the morning on the first day of his retirement, and started his daily routine. My mother asked him, “You don’t have to go to office now, why did you wake up so early?” He replied that his routine could not be changed. We didn't know how deeply he was going to be affected by his retirement at that point in time.
After a few days, my mother called me and shared her fears with me. She was afraid that my father was not comfortable at home because of his retirement, he had a lot of free time which he was not used to. That night, I called up my father, he confessed that he had started to feel useless.
He said, “I feel like I am being a burden on you by staying at home.”
This is very common among retired professionals, and if not dealt with this positively, it might turn into a disaster. I did my best to make him feel better. He had worked enough to give us a wonderful life, and today we're standing on our own feet just because of his hard work and efforts. I asked mom to take extra care of him and spend more time with him so that he did not feel lonely.
We planned a trip to South India for our parents. Our father rarely traveled while he was at work, and this vacation was a refreshing getaway for him.
When I went back home, I could feel how happy he was after the trip. I will never forget the conversation we had that day. My father said, "It's been a great trip, thanks to you and your brother."
I said, "Paa, we just want to see both of you happy. You’ve worked hard and sacrificed many things for us, and now it's our turn to make you feel special. You are the reason for our existence, our success and our smiles, this was our duty."
I asked dad to join an NGO which was managed by one of my school friends. He welcomed dad wholeheartedly and handed him the accounts work, and also told him not to take strain for the same and gave him some trainees to help him out. Also, my friend told him it was not compulsory for him to come sharp at 10 am, it's okay if he came and left whenever he felt like.
The main aim was to get my father engaged in some work. Now, it has been a year and dad is very happy. He does not feel "useless" anymore, and moreover he is travelling as well.
