Daily Life That I Have Taken for Granted

My parents share housework; Dad cleans the house, Mom does the laundry, and they cook together. Since I became an adult, I was ashamed of doing nothing for them, so I volunteered to help them. But my parents said it was helpful when I did nothing.

On a holiday, my parents went out and I was left alone at home. It was a perfect chance to finish all jobs around the house. First of all, I gathered up the laundry hanging on the drying rack and folded them. But it was a challenge from the beginning. I couldn’t fold the clothes as neatly as Mom did; the folded parts were stuck out and the shape was sloppy. After trial and error, I was able to fold them a little neatly and put them in place.

When I finished folding the laundry, the messy house came into my eyes. I vacuumed from the living room to the master bedroom, the dressing room, my room, and the kitchen. Clearing away scattered things on the floor, I often bent my back and repeatedly turned on and off the vacuum cleaner. My back hurt much after I cleaned up the floor, but I was satisfied to see the clean and tidy house.

Time quickly passed before I did much work. I went grocery shopping for dinner so we could have dinner as soon as my parents come back. I came in the grocery store with confidence, but soon I ran about in confusion without knowing what ingredients were fresh and what was left in our refrigerator. What was worse, the shopping bag was so heavy that I felt like the fifteen-minute walk was walking hours.

As soon as I got home, I went straight to the kitchen without a break. The menu for dinner was stir-fried pork with leaf wraps and rice. It wasn’t easy to prepare for the dish. Because of my poor cutting I was afraid that I would have my fingers cut, and I had a stiff arm while stir-frying the meat. Washing vegetables in cold water for a while numbed my hands. At the last minute, I had difficulty seasoning the soy bean stew in front of the gas stove for a while. Thankfully, my mom had already cooked rice.

I finally finished all the housework, which was like a long journey. It was a great success. When my parents came back, they were very happy to see the clean house and the dinner table set.

“Oh, you’ve grown up. How did you come up with doing all this?”

Mom complimented me throughout the whole meal, and Dad ate the stew even to the last drop in the pot. Their compliments made me smile from ear to ear. I felt like my fatigue that had accumulated throughout the day was relieved. But my physical condition was different. Right after the dinner, I lay down on bed and said to myself,

‘Mom and Dad have been doing this hard work every day.’

Well-dried and soft towels that I use every time I wash, warm meals every morning and evening, clean clothes hanging in my closet, my bed organized before I return home from work, and toilet papers that are always stacked up in the bathroom. The daily life that I had taken for granted was not made automatically. I should have recognized earlier my parents’ hard work hidden behind my comfort.

I was ashamed of myself and very sorry to my parents. Though it was late, I made a resolution never to forget that nothing can be taken for granted in the world. But there is one thing that I should take for granted. It is to repay my parents, giving thanks for all abundance and happiness that I have enjoyed so far.