I wanted my middle school student son to have a meaningful memory before his vacation ended. What I thought of was to let him experience his father’s job. My husband, who is engaged in the distribution business, delivers hundreds of 18 ㎏ [40 lb] cooking oil tins every day. As it is tough work, my husband hesitated, but agreed, and my son too was willing to try it.
The day came for him to experience his father’s work. Seeing his dad carrying heavy cooking oil tins, he said, “Dad, you are a real man with veiny arms.” Then after carrying two oil tins, he looked at his forearms and the back of his hands. “Mom, would I look nice if I have veiny arms like Dad’s?” he asked. ‘Well, he’s more interested in his appearance than Dad’s hard labor. How long will he endure today?’ I thought. I just hoped that it would be a valuable experience to him.
When they arrived at a customer’s shop, my husband got off the car first. My son followed him, putting on cotton work gloves. He asked, “How many tins do they need here?” and carried the oil tins to help his father. Apart from the heavy weight, the tin handles are very thin that they would hurt your fingers even if you carry only a few of them. If a customer is on the second or the third floor, your legs would shake after the delivery. When four hours passed since they had started the work, my son talked to himself,
“This is really tiring. My arms are about to fall off. My shoulders hurt too. Phew!”
“You may stop if you are tired. Don’t overdo it.”
I thought it was about time for him to give up. However, my guess was far off the mark.
“I should help Dad to reduce his work by half.”
He smiled without the slightest hint of displeasure. I was surprised at his grown-up manner, because he still felt like a three-year-old baby to me. My husband tried to stop him, saying, “You won’t be able to hold even a spoon when you eat tomorrow. You may stop now,” but my son said, “Dad, feed me if I drop my spoon,” and smiled again. Customers too were amazed at how he was helping his dad. They complimented him and gave him a drink, saying, “Your son is not like kids these days. You must be proud of him.”
That day, my son didn’t give up halfway, but helped his father for twelve hours until the end of the work. When they came back home, my son said to me while his father was away for a moment:
“Mom! You know? I’ve realized that everything I got was from my father’s labor. Before, I thought I could easily get whatever I wanted like food, clothes, and an allowance. Now I know that everything I get is thanks to my father’s hard-earned money. There are even some parents who desert their children in the news. I’m just thankful for raising me this well. Dad says his greatest happiness and satisfaction is to see me eat well, sleep well, and study well. I can also understand why you are trying to feed me as much as you can every morning. I’m grateful to you and Dad so much.”
Since that day, my son gives encouraging words when his father is about to leave for work and often calls him and makes him laugh with humor. Through my son, who seems to have grown so much after experiencing his father’s hard work, I come to think that raising a child is a happy task. Although I sometimes have a hard time raising him, he makes me happy and moves me more than anything else in the world. I thank God for giving me this happy task. My child and I are growing together through this happy task.