As I said before, it’s a truly sobering situation indeed knowing there are moments in life where you can’t help but notice changes our parents go through regarding their physical and mental health/well being to the point where it makes an immensely significant impact. I think it’s safe to say our perception of reality in regard to how each one of us growing up envisioned one’s mother, father, guardian, etc. as pillars of strength who are seemingly indestructible. True, how we viewed them with our own adolescent eyes as kids subsequently changed once we reached a matured grown up stage in our own life that ended up showing a sobering, potentially bittersweet reality. However, despite possibly losing a step it hopefully doesn’t hinder their determination in living their best life.
If you think about it, the perception of our parents being seen with our young adolescent eyes as superheroes/warriors yielding not only tremendous amounts of strength and absolutely indestructible, but have protected us against any dangerous threats throughout our lives too. Of course, being a parent means never really stopping in looking out for the best interests of their offspring no matter how grown up their child/children they become. Unfortunately, the roles are eventually reversed when the child/children stops, looks out for, and protects the parents when there’s a cognitive decline in their physical and mental acuity. Although they’ll always be our superhero/warrior parent(s), that perception gradually fades thus hitting us, so to speak, with the sobering reality that they’re actually mere mortals after all.
Personally speaking, I was hit with the sobering reality last year when it came to a serious medical issue involving my father. Although he’s thankfully doing much better, the seriousness of the situation really woke me up to the fact that the man who I have respected and looked up to for so many years was suddenly down the count. What made the situation even more worrisome was that I never received a call from my mom and I only learned about what happened to him when my sister-in-law texted me. In any case, my father’s health scare would end up leading to a very surreal and serious conversation between the both of us since I’m the oldest child of the family. Hey, as much as I worry about my dad, as well as my mom, I know they’re worrying about me just as much as parents do.
In retrospect, it’s considerably difficult to accept the fact that one day we won’t be able to talk to and spend time with our parents. Sadly, those who have lost a parent know whether through age, cancer, an accident, etc. dealing with their absence can be absolutely painful. Yet, you feel their presence and in some ways know their watching over you while continuing on with your own journey of life. Ultimately, every child wants to reciprocate in some way, shape or form to show how much they loved and cared for their parent or parents. In other words, give back because they have continually supported/sacrificed so much to see each one of us thrive and succeed. In the end, treasure the time and moments you have with your parents because we’re given the opportunity to pay it forward now matter how big or small the gesture of love is towards him/her/them. A song that best reflects this is by James Blunt titled “Monsters”.
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