If you are a parent who is reading this, please read till the end! If you are not a parent, you can stop the moment you lose interest 😃.

Have you ever come across a moment that has shades of both happiness and sadness?

It was 2007, and that was one such moment for my parents. I grew up in a very small town — completely isolated from the cities. My father owns a farming-related business there and my mother just prays. My parents always wanted me to have an education of the highest standard, and I had been admitted to one of the finest universities in the country. They were happy and proud.

However, in that very moment, there is also a mother who realizes she isn’t going to see her son every day, and that he would only visit the town occasionally (and that has truly been the case — since 2007, I visit home only for a month every year.)

A very protective mother is worried about how her very stupid son is going to face the world. There would be so many things that a mother would like to say to her son, yet she did not say anything. She was very quiet for days, and kept herself busy with all the packing and stuff. I was way too excited about what lay ahead and did not even bother to think about what she must be going through.

At certain moments, she would just sit by my side, hold my hand, and say nothing. A universal fact that we, sons, are really, really stupid when it comes to showing affection to our parents or understanding what they are feeling.

Finally, it was the day for me to leave, and my mother still hadn’t said anything to me. It was 4 A.M. in the morning, and my father had taken out the vehicle to drop me off at the railway station.

Just as I was about to leave, my mother took me to the side and said the following in the softest possible manner —

“I am sending you as a nice and clean person — always remain one.”

That’s it. She said nothing more or nothing less. She did not have tears in her eyes, nor did her voice break — yet she was very clear in her message. She did not tell me to work hard and succeed, or to avoid drugs and bad company — but to always remain a nice and clean person.

That one statement was enough to leave me teary-eyed, and for my entire 12-hour train journey I kept reflecting on what she said.

Truth be told, during my early 20s, there were a few not-so-wise things I wanted to try.

I wonder what stopped me — maybe it was the thought that what would my mother feel if she gets to know about this.

It shall be a full 16 years in May this year, and I have not forgotten what she said.

To all the parents who are reading this article —

I always wondered why my mother said that statement rather than a list of dos and don’ts.

The only explanation I can think of is that maybe she had been preparing me for this very day for the past 18 years and that she had a lot of trust in the life teachings she had imbibed in me, through her stories of faith and through her own behavior.

But then this immediately makes me wonder how hard it must be to be a parent. You help your kids grow wings, only to let them fly away when you need them the most. Yet you do so with smiles and grace.

And once they live on their own, you get to see the magic you have been inculcating in your kids for the past few years.

I wonder if I will ever be able to understand the emotions parents feel. Or maybe, until one day…

P.S. Can I share a very personal thing about the bond between my mother and myself? Even if today, she gets to know that I am giving an important exam or some other important activity — she begins to pray. My father and I often joke that she has a direct hotline connection with God 😃.

If you like my articles, please do subscribe to my stories and weekly newsletter so that you never miss one!