subject: Everyone Grows Old [print this page] Everyone Grows Old Everyone Grows Old
Mandy always thought that her parents were the same as her and her sisters in that they could adapt to the world easily. It was only until recently, she found out that her parents did not speak up about how they felt and what they wanted to do because they did not want to cause inconvenience for them.
During one summer, Mandy and two of her five sisters decided to take their parents to Singapore for vacation. On the airplane, her father refused to go to the bathroom for four hours. No matter how she and her sisters tried to convince him to go he just wouldn't get up from the seat. Every time they went to sightseeing, he would only go to bathroom if he really couldn't hold onto it anymore.
One time Mandy observed her father when he went to the bathroom. It took a long time until he came out. He didn't see them so he started to look around for them. He seemed worried yet he didn't yell out because he didn't want to embarrass them. He finally stopped and stood there helplessly waiting for them to find him.
Finally she understood why he didn't want to go to the bathroom. He did not want to risk getting lost with them. Sometimes Mandy's nephews would laugh at her father saying that he was so dumb and slow - that he couldn't even get his zippers right. They said it's such a simple thing why do old people can't do it? They were young so of course they have not experienced and it was difficult to understand. But for old people, sometimes their hands and feet do not follow their will.
During this trip, Mandy did not have fun at all. Every time she saw her father going to the bathroom and coming out worried she felt sad for him. So from then on, she would wait right outside men's bathroom for him. Eventually, she got used to it.
On the airplane going home, Mandy took her father to the bathroom together. He suddenly whispered, "Actually, I do not know how to lock the bathroom door on the plane." She patted his shoulder and said, "It's okay." But secretly, she felt very sad for him.
Mandy immediately told her sisters that during the next trip, they should bring their husbands so they can take care of their father when they go to the bathroom. She also wanted to tell her two younger sisters at home that in the future, make sure to give their parents money when they started to make money. Finally, she wanted to tell her father that whenever he needed help - don't hesitate to ask them for help, because they love him.
This one trip gave Mandy many feelings she didn't have. She realized that her parents had changed. They were no longer strong and indestructible. She realized that even the giants that carried all her burdens for her in the past will grow old.
