One of the ways our parents show us love is by cutting fruits for us to eat. However, a man on Facebook has shared how his dad shows his love with money.
Matthew Zachary Liu took to Facebook to share a story very close to his heart. He said,
“My dad’s love language is money. He doesn’t love money, he expresses his love through money.”
He then recalls his childhood where his father was always busy. They had very few interactions but it was mostly Matthew’s father asking him if he had enough money. If Matthew said no, then he would slip him more money.
Matthew reflected on that and said that he did not really care much about it at that time except that he had more money to spend. The young man then said that he only realised much later that his father was doing it with his own pocket money and would bring packed sandwiches to office. He would always say,
“Don’t tell your mother.”
Matthew said that even after his father has retired, he would always ask Matthew whether he needed money. One day, Matthew received a message in his inbox from his father’s ex-colleague. The person was saying that the elderly cleaner at their old workplace was searching for someone who gave her a big amount of money when her husband passed away.
Matthew then approached his father and asked him if he was the person who gave the money to the old lady to which he said yes and asked Matthew not to tell his mother. The young man then realised that his father has always been selfless as he would always give money to the elderly who were selling packs of tissue at hawker centres.
“When mom catches him, she’d sometimes give him remarks like, “you think you’re a bank/charity?” but Dad would still give if he had the means.”
Reflecting, Matthew then said that his father did not come from money and he needed to step up at a very young age just to support his family. He also made sure to take care of his mother (Matthew’s grandmother) up until she passed on even when his siblings did not contribute. When asked about why he did that, he said,
“This is my duty as a son.”
Matthew then said that Asian parents do not show their love in conventional ways but with subtlety such as asking if we’ve eaten, making a cup of Milo or our favourite meal and going out of their way to do things for us. However, we only perceive their care and concern as naggy and annoying.
“We tend to only realize their acts of love and sacrifices later in life or as we mature.”
As a last reflection, Matthew said that he and his brother would always ask his dad what he wanted for his birthday and Christmas but he would always say, “for you to grow up well and live a decent life”. Now that the two men are all grown up and their dad is retired, their father would always tell them that he doesn’t want or need our money or any materialistic thing when asked the same question. But, he has one request and that is…
“For us to promise him that if he ever goes too soon or unexpectedly, we’d continue taking care of mom for him. My dad isn’t a rich dad. But his heart is full and his soul is rich.”
Matthew and his brother are definitely very lucky to have such a selfless man as their father. We wish for nothing but the best for that family!
This article was published with consent from the original source.
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