The Piggy Bank, from the eyes of a boy named James.............
I remembered when I was a kid, dad and mom always had a piggy bank by the bed in the old wooden cottage we used to live in. Any lose change and coins would go in to that piggy bank. It wasn't any normal piggy bank, it was made from wood, something my grandfather taught my dad when my dad was a kid.
Dad was a rubber tapper, and mom worked as a tea lady for a nearby law firm not far from where we lived. Back in the early 60s, wages were earned by the hour. Mom didn't really get much because she worked a fixed 8 hours a day. Dad earned a bit more since he used to worked till late at night to get a little extra.
Every night before I cuddled up with them to bed, we would count how much coins we had for the day and put the coins into the piggy bank. Every time we drop those coins in, I could hear the coins hitting each other. Dad would always say, "Your mommy and I will make sure you get a good education and won't ever need to stay in a wooden cottage with no rooms."
Dad always made sure we had enough piggy banks to store up a month's worth of wage savings. Each time one piggy bank became full, he would keep the piggy bank safely in the closet and take out a new piggy bank to continue depositing coins in it. At the end of the month dad and I would walk to the nearest bank carrying the piggy banks in sacks. Every time we deposited the coins in the bank, dad would rub my tiny head and say, "All these piggy bank savings will get you a good education and brighter future. Your mommy and I don't want you struggling like us!"
No matter how rough the situation was, dad and mom always made sure there was some left to put in the piggy bank. When dad lost his job during the a bad depression, times were really bad for us, but neither did dad or mom take a dime from the piggy bank. We had stew for food, and sometimes skipping lunch only to have dinner. Stew was the easy to make and could last a couple of days. Dad would still rub my little head and say, "We can't use a single dime from the piggy bank! All the money in there is to make sure you won't have to skip lunch and have stew for meals. Not unless you want to have stew that is...." He always said it with a smile even though I knew he spared most of his stew for me.
Few years down the road, all the money saved eventually saw me through schooling, college and university. Not only did it see me through my education, we had a little extra to shift out from our run down wooden cottage to a better home. Mom made an effort to frame up all my milestone education certificates on the wall of our living room and at the bottom of the large frame housing all the certificates carved the words, "Funded by the Family Piggy Bank".
Now I am married to a beautiful wife, Susan and we have a 6 months old son.
My family and I are spending Christmas at my dad and mom's. Reaching their place during Christmas eve, as I walked around the house to see how much it has changed since I got married and had a son, I caught a glimpse of a piggy bank by their bed. I smiled and felt a great sense of thankfulness.
Christmas eve dinner was great, we caught up a lot on how things have been. Mom and dad couldn't stop playing with 6 months old Tommy. While they were taking care of Tommy, I helped Susan with the dishes.
After all the cleaning up, it was almost 10 o'clock and I saw dad carrying Tommy into the bedroom. As we crossed paths, my dad's eye caught mine and even though we said nothing we knew we had one of the best Christmas eve ever because of the family piggy bank.
The piggy bank taught me more than any words of a parent could teach me. It taught me about patience, determination, saving, anything small can grow to a substantial size, a promise of a father and mother to their child is a promise for life.
And that's the Piggy Bank in the eyes of now a man named James.........
Use this end of the year to reflect on how things have been for you. Things have not been good for me this year but it may be better for you. Most importantly, if you are now successful, or becoming successful, or even just out into the working world; remember it was your parents who made the sacrifice to get you to where you are............... Have a splendid Christmas for 2008.
Not sure if you've heard of this story but it's a lesson that we all should learn:
ReplyDeleteLiving at the sea-side, Meng lived with Dad, Mom and Ah Kong grandfather.
At a dinner one day, Meng was called to sit on the table while his mom served the food. Dad then came sitting next to him. Meng looked at the beautiful dishes on plates as if he was drooling. The family smiled and started their dinner.
Meng suddenly realised that Ah Kong was looking at them far from the edge. He got up and walked to Ah Kong. He pulled Ah Kong's hand to the dining table. Ah Kong smiled. "No, no. Ah Kong's seat is there, son." Mom said as she pointed at the kitchen floor. Meng starred at the angle. Rice filled with a coconut shell and the vegetable Meng could not finish last night. Annoyed, Dad called Meng "Come, sit back and don't disturb Ah Kong's dinner over there". Meng nodded.
The next day, Dad and Mom found Meng wasn't on his seat for dinner. They went out to look for him. From afar, it seemed that Meng was looking for something under a tall coconut tree. Meng saw them and ran to his parents grabbing two coconuts on hands. "Look what I've found! Dad, Mom, I will keep this until I grow up. Then you can have dinner with the shells like how Ah Kong has his dinner every day." Meng smiled to them as he told. The parents looked at the coconuts with embarrassment.