To my children
The phone rang. I opened my eyes. It looked strange, different room. It was a hotel room. “Oh, I am on business trip.” I picked up the phone. It was 4 a.m. and numbers did not look familiar. A call from a stranger! I pushed the button thinking something might have happened to my parents.
It was from my daughter. She said, “I broke my arm.” She went to the church retreat and had an accident there. I asked her how bad it was. She said just a broken arm, nothing else. She was at the urgent care and they were putting a splinter. When a day broke, they would take her to thehospital.
I told her to be careful and have a safe trip home before I ended the call.
I wondered why she called me when it was under the control and there was nothing I could do for her. Then I realized she wanted to talk to someone, wanted to be consoled.
A while ago, she told me, “Dad, do you know why we don’t tell you anything? You always get upset and scold us. That’s why we decided not to tell you.”
That was true. When the kids called me after the traffic accident, I always asked why and how. Before I asked them whether they were hurt, I asked how bad the car damages were.
I regret it now. It was his/her first accident and he/she must have been really scared. I regret that I did not tell them warm and kind consolingwords.
They are all grown now and the times have passed.