Lets make an effort to understand

This is for every boyfriend,brother and father who compromises all their happiness....

Money is driving us haywire. People can survive without oxygen but money. I was noticing a man in my office who came  one hour early to work and was happily doing overtime without even manager asking him to do so.I always used to pity on him and mock at his commitment which I found unnecessary and just a mere show off.

One day I just felt an urge to ask him the reason of his dull and mundane life which starts at office and ends at the footsteps of our office building. I asked him, “Why do you work so much?” he smiled and just avoided my question as joke.

I took away his hands from the keyboard and asked him that when was the last time he has surprised his wife by going home early. Has he seen his daughter saying “papa” for the first time.

He carried a very faint smile on his face and answered me-“I have to pay my half salary every month to see my daughter going to a good school. This overtime never pleases me or I am a workaholic but the money from overtime allows me to take my wife out for a dinner once in a five star hotel every month. My presence turns boring if I don’t add any extra efforts to make my family feel special. Every family member expects monetary gifts from the earning member of the house. My presence is not that special when I am sans surprises or a something special. I work hard to meet my family’s expectation. I too feel like sitting like you in a group and chat.”

I was not agitated or shocked listening to his reply but was spell bound. His reply was so heart touching that it bought back those memories when my dad used to come late from office and daily I used to search gifts in his bag. I was never bothered to ask why he was late or how he managed to get gifts so often. I had tears in my eyes and I just walked away. We get upset when our dad scolds us for  silly reasons like keeping the tap on and forgetting it or leaving the ac switched on even while leaving the house for tuitions. We feel how it matters if air conditioner is switched for an hour more. The truth is that he works his guts out to earn the money to pay all the bills of our house.

We complain our husband for not taking us out for a holiday like our friends husband do. We never realize that how hurt he gets in failing to keep us happy even after getting abused badly by his boss and working late night when we are quietly inside the cozy blanket .He also feels like throwing a resignation and  taking a break from his boring job. He can never do so because he has a bucket list to fulfill. In that list the only wish he has is that he wants to keep his family happy. They don’t share because we never try to understand.

Just hold their hands and thank them for every inch of hard work they have done to fulfill our dreams. Instead of making wishes let’s just spend a day with him without any expectations. Let’s share that burden equally.