AWAY

You know that you are a bonehead when something you have been so sure of for such a long time turns out to be dead wrong. When the realization hits, you feel like you don’t know anything anymore. Everything’s a mystery as you try to think, “Was I wrong all this time? What’s next? Aliens are real? Is a black cat crossing the road really bad luck?” It can be anything that gets to you. And more than surprise the real emotion is anger. And sometimes….sadness. That was what did it for me. Let me explain.

Ever since I was a small kid, I have been the receiving pad of insults, beatings, and sarcastic comments. Many times the launching pad was….wait for it…….MY MOTHER. Yes that’s right. She was never in the military but was the ultimate stickler for rules. And I was you could say… the DEVIL’s spawn. I had lost my father at a very young age so it was only the two of us. But I could get on her nerves on the smallest of things. Still, she tried her ultimate best at raising me to be fine young man ready to take on the world and I think she has done a pretty good job (Narcissism is not a crime).

The reason I am saying this is because I was wrong. I was wrong when I thought I would be happier once I was gone. One I was away in college. Away from her and her reprimands. Away from her constant comparison of me with other students (I admit, that still gets to me sometimes). I came to college thinking that once I was away, I would be free and happy. I would be understood.

But one year of Engineering studies gone by and this is what I have learnt. I am STUPID. Stupid to think that being away from parents is a good thing. Stupid to think that parents just want to look for reasons to rebuke us. Stupid to think I was in a leash. Stupid to go in the first place.

We don’t really appreciate the value of our parents in our life until we really need them and miss them. That is the time we see everything they did just for us.

The home cooked meals prepared by mother’s hands which are hundred times better than the mess food. The mother’s touch that we get when we are sick. All the love and support we receive at every turn. Them dropping plans just for us on a whim. They made us follow rules but a very important lesson they taught us was to have a mind of our own. And even after we screw up a thousand times, they never give up on us. They are always there. Because no one in this universe can love us more than them. They must have sacrificed a lot to raise us. But they did it with a smile. And with a brave face. And they never asked for anything in return. We owe a great deal to them.

So to everyone who is leaving home for college, or leaving home for work, or leaving home for whatever reason, look at your parents faces, spend some time with them. Make them laugh. That smile on their faces is worth everything. And hold their hands, ask for their blessing, before….you go……AWAY.