This is a news item by Fr. Bel R. San Luis, SVD in the Manila Bulletin Online which according to him might serve as a  postcript to Mother’s Day.

Finding time for loved ones

By Fr. Bel R. San Luis, SVD

I CAME across a story from an unknown author that might serve as a postscript to Mother’s Day.
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A husband said: “The demands of my work and my three children had made it possible to visit my widowed mother only occasionally. My wife was understanding when she said ‘I love you, but I know this other woman loves you and would love to spend some time with you.’”

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So that night he arranged to go out for dinner and a movie. He said, “I thought that it would be pleasant to spend some time with you, just the two of us. She thought about it for a moment, and then said, ‘I would like that very much.’

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“After work on Friday I picked her up and went to a restaurant that, although not elegant, was very nice and cozy. My mother took my arm as if she were the First Lady.

“After we sat down, I had to read the menu. Her eyes could only read large print. Half-way through the entrees, I lifted my eyes and saw mother sitting there staring at me.

A nostalgic smile was on her lips.

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“‘It was I who used to have to read the menu when you were small,’ she said. ‘Then it’s time that you relax and let me return the favor,’ I responded. During the dinner, we had an agreeable conversation nothing extraordinary but catching up on recent events of each other’s life. We talked so much that we missed the movie.

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“As we arrived at her house later, she said, ‘I’ll go out with you again, but only if you let me invite you.’ I agreed.

“‘How was your dinner date?’ asked my wife when I got home. ‘Very nice, much more so than I could have imagined,’ I answered.

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“A few days later, my mother died of a massive heart attack. It happened so suddenly that I didn’t have a chance to do anything for her. Sometime later, I received an envelope with a copy of a restaurant receipt from the same place mother and I had dined.

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“An attached note said: ‘I paid this bill in advance. I wasn’t sure that I could be there; but, nevertheless, I paid for two plates — one for you and the other for your wife… if I won’t be able to make it. You will never know what that night meant for me. ‘I love you, son.’

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“At that moment, I understood the importance of saying in time: ‘I love you’ and to give our loved ones the time that they deserve. Nothing in life is more important than your family. Give them the time they deserve, because these things cannot be put off till some ‘other’ time.”

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