Some Things are More Important

 Dad crept quietly into the pitch-black  living room. He looked all around him, nobody was there. "The kid must be asleep," he thought. He sighed as he set his coat on the table and sunk into his comfortable armchair.

"Daddy,may I ask you a question?"

Dad almost fell off his armchair in fright as his son somehow  materialised out of nowhere.

Dad:"Uh...*awkward* Yeah sure, what is it boy?"  He reached for today's newspaper.

Son: "Daddy, how much do you make an hour?"

Dad: "*frowning as he set the newspaper aside* That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?"

Son: "I just want to know,Daddy.  Please tell me, how much do you make in  an hour?"

Dad smiled, "If you must know, I make $100 an hour."

Son: "Oh! (With his head down). A moment later, the boy asked to borrow $50.

The father 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'd better march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why are you being so selfish. I work hard every day just to get repaid by this childish behavior?"

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

The man 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? However, after about an hour or so, the man calmed down, and started to think: Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $ 50 and he really didn't ask for money very often. The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.

Dad: "Are you asleep, son?"

Son: "No daddy, I'm awake".

Dad: "I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier. It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you.Here's the $50 you asked for."

The little boy sat straight up, smiling. "Oh, thank you daddy!"Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills. The man 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 father.

Dad: "Why do you want more money if you already have some?"

Son: "Because I didn't have enough, but now I do. Daddy, I have $100 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you."

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged silently for his forgiveness. The embrace was long and warm. A joyous atmosphere indeed.

It's just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts. Do remember to share that $100 worth of your time with someone you love? If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family and friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than to our family.

Some things are more important.