The Porch Lights in our lives

Guest Article from glad2bawoman.com

 Each evening as the city settles down for the night, they come alive like little fireflies. We pass them, when, every time we take a bend down the street, we see the rows of houses on each side, their portals bathed in a warm glow. The ubiquitous porch lights. I wonder sometimes, have we ever thought that how much they are a part of our lives, an important one?

Night after night, they shine, bathing our porches with a pool of warm light, somewhere waiting with the rest of the family for the tired and weary master of the house, somewhere, deep into the night, it waits with the anxious mother peering through her upstairs window for her errant son, and sometimes they add a magic glow around the couple saying goodbye, hurriedly on the steps, away from the eyes of the disapproving father! Their shaded light throws up eerie shadows around the garden, weaving a magical story for the little child sitting on the windowsill, in his own fairyland of giants and green elves and fairies dancing in the moonlight!! They are there, shining each night, catching the twinkle in the eyes of the new bride who with her diamond nosepin glittering by the light, flushed and rosy, steps into her new household. And sometimes you find them showing the way, as the bier is brought out with the matriarch of the family on her last journey. That night too it catches the light again, no not of her eyes, nor of the diamond nosepin, but on the tears of her loved ones.

You find them around the gates of the numerous apartment houses, the light white and cold and aloof, reflecting the sentiments of the residents of the place, where neighbours don't even know their first names! Amidst them you may also find a old crumbling building, majestic still, which has somehow escaped the clutches of the builders, and there you will find the antique lead glass shade, through it's clusters of prisms the light throwing it's myriad hues, reminiscent of the aristocracy still. They are there every night, everywhere around this world, making us feel welcomed in their own unassuming silent way. What touches me is the way they are there, uncomplaining, never demanding nor expecting anything from this world, reminding me of people I know who gives unselfishly but never asks, not even for a smile. It's only for us to perceive, if only   we knew how. 

 The other night as I waited for my daughter to return, by the window, the little pool of light on the steps gave me a reassuring feeling. Did I ever notice it before?           

                                      

Guest article from http://www.glad2bawoman.com. Glad2bawoman is an online media company for women with a growing community of more than 70,000 members. All about women and for women, it encompasses a variety of topics including empowerment, relationships, health and fashion.

              

A Revelation

This article has been selected as an editor's pick by the Paperblog team...!!!

Introducing a Mother:

Have you ever thought about the pain a mother goes through for her child?
Right from the time a new born is still developing it’s sheen in a mother’s womb till the date when she finally goes off to heaven a mother is someone who always, invariably of her own state tries her best she can for her child.

It’s very difficult for you to lift and hold a weight of 100 grams for few hours but a mother does it not for hours or days or months, she does it for years. Starting from the time a new born is still in her womb, to the moment when her child takes baby steps for the first time till he becomes grown enough to live on its own a mother is striving everything for her son’s/daughter’s well-being in spite of bearing all the pain.
 Talking about physical pain do you know:  A Human body can bear only up to 45 Del (units) of pain. Yet at time of giving birth, a mother feels up to 57 Del (units) of pain. This is similar to 20 bones getting fractured at the same time.  It’s said you can bear physical pain…but this pain is unbearable even for the strongest of men.

Abiding the physical pain for the time being… can you estimate the attachment of a child to her mother?  An infant stops crying just at the glimpse of her mother. A mother remains awaken the entire night just to see her child sleep peacefully.  She would not eat until her child has his/her stomach full. A small injury to a child is clearly visible on the concerned face of mother. She would risk the entire world for the safety and prosperity of her child. The emotional bond of a mother with her child is the strongest of all relations.  When you have become an adult a mother is someone who has umpteen difficulty of eating her own food but would be seen with a glass of water caressing her son’s back on hearing him cough just once. A mother affectionate care can be very well understood from the story below:

Son: Mother, I feel ashamed while introducing you with my friends.
Mother:  Why so, son?
Son: You don’t have an eye and I feel awkward to let my friends know about it.
Mother: It’s all right son. I don’t need to meet your friends.

Every now and then Son would curse her mother for being handicapped. He would ask her what had happened to her. But she would never reply.

One day Mother finally met god after prolonged illness and she left a note for his son

Son,
I know i have never been an ideal mother for you because of my disability. You often ask me how I lost my eye.  I think it’s time I should tell you because if I don’t say it now I would never be able to speak again… son when you were very young you lost one eye while playing with a dagger. I cursed myself for not being able to protect you from losing your eye, consequently I gave my eye to you so that you can see and you won’t have to live with this disability all your life.

After reading it…son was floored with tears and now he could realize what a mother meant. Sadly it’s was too late for him as his mother was no more with him.


Introducing a Father:
First time he took his son into his arms and started crying. Tears are not for men but can you tell me how a man feels while holding his baby in his arms for the first time?  
A father is known as the first love for a daughter and knight for his son. Do you know the reason for this? He is the only person in this world who would hold their palms without any self motive. The only motive he has is the well being for his kid.
A father is someone who will forgo all for his child, a person who is strong, protective and caring. He would be a guide, a leader, a motivator, and a friend whatever you need he is the one for you. 
From a lamb in mother’s arm when you couldn’t eat of your own he was the one who would make you consume your supper with his hands. To a school going chap in shorts who came home crying with a bruised knee he is the one who would articulate you to be strong by applying Dettol at the affected area.  Finally an educated young man in his office inquiring about the incentives from an insurance scheme, a father is the one who will always speak of the most feasible option without giving any minuscule thought about his personal gain. He is the same all the years… he doesn’t change with your financial ability or your maturity. He would always be the one who adores you, cares for you and when everyone turns their backs on you, you will see a father standing beside you…The story below will make you realize the Worth of a father

Son: Dad, My business has blown away and now am in debt and everybody is refusing to give me a single penny. Please tell me dad what shall I do? Where I can get money?
Father:  Son, you Father is still alive don’t worry about the money.

After few Months…Son’s business overcame its losses and was running into profit, all because of the money his father paid for his debt.
Suddenly one day his Father died from a heart attack.
When son met the doctor he came to know that the doctor had warned his father a long time back of his Artery blockages …Son also came to know that his father had agreed for Bypass surgery and had also arranged the money for it but because of some unavoidable circumstances of his business…his father came up to the Doctor one fine morning and told him…”I have become old and one day or the other I have to leave this place but I cannot see my son losing till I am alive. So I have decided to give Money to my son and not for my operation.”

On hearing this Son was rueful…as the only thing that was left with him was the words his father would often speak to him: “One can always acquire the lost money but a life once lost can never be Acquired”

My intentions were not to let the readers know what a mother or a father mean but to cite an eye opening example of the fate our parents have to strain in their old age.
You know the most you can give to  any person is your time and parents are the one who gave their entirety be it their time, money or whatever they had possessed just for your well being …don’t you think you have some responsibilities towards your parents?
Don’t you think they need your respect, time and care if not, anything more during their old age?

Parents who staked their all just for you as you were their only heart and soul and today they have to strain for a painful death just because you don’t have time for them.
Few weeks back I read number of Old age Homes have doubled in the past 3 years …I was so much distressed on reading it that I couldn’t sleep the entire night thinking is this our modern society teaching us? Is this what our parents dream to spend the last few years of their lives? Is the concept of nuclear family means closing the doors for your parents as such either they die on streets or spend in Old age homes?  Is it the reward you give to your parents for realizing your goal to become a respectable person in the society by sending them to old age homes?

I cannot express my agony in words as I am pained to see the plight of our elderly parents.
Parents are most precious of any belonging that belong to us. It’s high time for us to open our eyes and realize the lifelong debt that the parents have on us and feel for their Loss they have been enduring just to make us win. You can never clear off the debts parents have on you even if you spend rest of your life in proposition to what they have done for you. Only thing you can do is to score some plus points for yourself by taking care of them by giving them the adequate Time, Care and respect or else
 Remember one day you will also get old and it will be you on the receiving end…!!!


Parents are the most Precious belonging that we have along with us and we must realize it in time or else we would lose our life in a dilemma of what we have gained and lost in a life worth mentioning…!!!