Point to ponder…

Posted on by August 14, 2019

In our rush to keep up with the Jones, or the bills or whatever we’re sometimes forgetting the important stuff…

I don’t know who wrote this, but it IS worth thinking about…

Can I borrow $5?

A woman came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find her
5-year old son waiting for her at the door. 

SON: ‘Mummy, may I ask you a question?’ 

MUM: ‘Yeah sure, what it is?’ replied the woman.. 

SON: ‘Mummy, how much do you make an hour?’ 

MUM: ‘That’s none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?’ the woman said 
angrily. 

SON: ‘I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?’ 

MUM: ‘If you must know, I make  $20 an hour.’ 

SON: ‘Oh,’ the little boy replied, with his head down. 

SON: “Mummy, may I please borrow $5?” 

The mother was furious, ‘If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I don’t work hard every day for such childish frivolities.’ 

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.. 

The woman sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy’s questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money? 

After about an hour or so, the woman had calmed down , and started to think: 

Maybe there was 
something he really needed to buy with that $5 and he really didn’t ask for money very often.The woman went to the door of the little boy’s room and opened the door. 

‘Are you asleep, son?’ She asked. 

‘No Mummy, I’m awake,’ replied the boy. 

‘I’ve been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier’ said the woman. ‘It’s been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here’s the $5 you asked for.’ 

The little boy sat straight up, smiling. ‘Oh, thank you Mummy!’ he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills. 

The woman saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again. 

The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his mother. 

‘Why do you want more money if you already have some?’ the mother grumbled. 

‘Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do,’ the little boy replied. 

‘Mummy, I have $20 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow.

I would like to have dinner with you.’

Edit- As the commenters have said, Cats in the Cradle…

Comments

Point to ponder… — 19 Comments

  2. Aw man, I did not see that ending coming. Nearly brought a tear to this old crusty man’s eye …

  4. Hey Old NFO;

    I have seen this running the internet, but the basic premise is correct, the time you give someone is priceless. Many family members(Not all) would rather have your time than your money.

  5. I’ve long since retired, my son’s moved away.
    I called him up just the other day.
    I said, “I’d like to see you if you don’t mind.”
    He said, “I’d love to, Dad, if I can find the time
    you see my new job’s a hassle and the kid’s got the flu.
    But it’s sure nice talking to you, Dad.
    It’s been sure nice talking to you”.
    And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me,
    he’d grown up just like me,
    my boy was just like me…

  6. Concur with all of the above. Time spent with your family, especially your children, is worth infinitely more than gold.

  8. All- Yep, Cats in the Cradle… I remember it well. I’ll find it and add it to the post.

    Posted from my iPhone.

  11. Jamey Johnson sings a song called The Dollar where a kid tries to buy an hour with his Dad.

    I listened to Harry Chapin a lot when Dad was deployed.

  15. That’s a gut punch right in the feels. Love it. Needed it. Thanks Old NFO.

  16. I grew up hearing Harry Chapin’s tunes (mom and dad are huge fans).

    Chapin may have been liberal but he walked the walk, and I suspect he would not approve of where ‘liberalism’ has gone today.

    Great, now I need to find ‘Thirty Thousand Pounds of Bananas’ on Youtube… probably in my search history next to Jim Stafford’s ‘Wildwood Weed’.