When the time comes
When the time comes
Very soon we will be celebrating Mother's and Father's Day, and as a tribute to my own father, I would like to share with you a very personal letter that my father wrote last year. My father used to write for the Spanish Radio, and this particular letter was written by him, without knowing that it would become a premonition about his own future.
The letter is about a father who writes to his children, asking them to be patient and understanding, now that he has become old and sick. He also includes an answer of what he thinks his children would write back... Two months ago, my father had a stroke, and he has become pretty much the person that he wrote about. He can no longer write his memories, eat or dress himself. Here is his letter...
When the Time Comes...
When the time comes that I won't be able to tie my shoes or eat without spilling my food, please be patient and understanding with me like I was with you when you were learning all these things for the first time...
When the time comes that I won't be able to follow a conversation, and will repeat myself over and over again, please listen to me patiently and remember that when you were little, I would repeat stories for you over and over until you went to sleep...
When the time comes when I won't be able to learn by myself, remember that it was me that once taught you how to eat, how to put on your shoes, and how to speak...
When the time comes when I won't be able to walk and my legs will no longer hold me, please give me your hand like I gave you mine when you were starting to walk...
When the time comes that I won't be able to survive on my own, please give me all your love and patience, like I gave you mine since the day you were born...
Your loving father,
Papi
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When the Time Comes...
When the time comes that you won't be able to remember where you live, recognize your street or find your way back home, don't feel lonely or scared, we will be your guide and we will take you by the hand as you did with us...
When the time comes that you will no longer remember how to dress, we will dress you like you did with us when we didn't know how to...
When the time comes that you will no longer be able to keep your papers or ideas in order, we will do it for you like you did for us when we were in school...
When the time comes that you will no longer know how to eat by yourself, we will feed you like you fed us when we were little and could not hold our forks...
When the time comes that you will no longer remember the names of those around you, we will tell you their names like you used to do with us when we did not recognize family and friends...
When the time comes that you will no longer be able to remember your past, we will be your memory, we will be your future...
Your children
Written by Osvaldo S. Perez, for the Radio Station FM 92, and transmitted in the program "Aquí está Alavarez Guedes,on 08/02/00
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