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Walking with filial piety

Filial piety is being willing to sit with my grandmother and watch the sunset amid insects, birds, and fish

By Ron M PittsPublished 2 years ago 5 min read
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Walking with filial piety
Photo by zhengtao tang on Unsplash

filial piety is being willing to slow down with my grandmother in the face of curiosity and mystery. Filial piety is companionship, understanding, and the mission and responsibility I have to fulfill for my grandmother for the rest of my life.

My grandmother is probably the best person who has ever treated me in my life. For a child, the best person is someone who treats me well, gives me good food, or takes me out to play and keeps me company. I remember when I was young, I also bragged to my grandmother, "I'll give you the best food in the world when I grow up." Maybe from that time on, I knew how to give back, how to grow up and make the delicious food my grandmother made for me, and how to be grateful for the things she did for me. The source of filial piety started with my grandmother.

I can't remember many things, big or small, from my childhood, but that one time was particularly clear and memorable.

At the beginning of summer, the spring chill was gone, and even the sunlight seemed to be filled with sweetness. The sky is not cloudless, there are always a few naughty clouds in the sun between the shuttle, casting a patch. I was so happy to see the beauty of the outdoors that I hurriedly dragged my grandmother to the hill behind my house.

When I arrived at the hill, I let go of Grandma's hand, smiled at her, and ran to the front. There are two roads on the hillside: a big road, which is relatively flat, and Grandma takes that road; and a small road, which is full of gravel and weeds but is a playful paradise for me. With a small flower picked from anywhere, humming a tune, I jumped and ran ahead, only to see my grandmother yelling at me to slow down while dragging her ancient body to try to catch up with me. But immersed in the powerful attraction of nature, I was oblivious to the anxiety and worry in my grandmother's heart.

A few clouds dragged the hot sunlight, and I turned back to look for my grandmother, but she was long gone. I ran back a few dozen steps but saw that Grandma was panting, her face, which was not much blood, looked pale, the legs that were slightly loopy were shaking unconsciously, and the hands that were chapped looked empty. I suddenly felt some discomfort, perhaps because of the blazing sunlight overhead

I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to get a good deal on this. A sudden heartache rushed to my heart, and I also felt chagrin for what I had just done. I held back the wet heat in my eyes and ran to my grandmother with a smile - it was almost the fastest I've ever been in my life. I took my grandmother's arm and listened to her count me out one by one. At that moment, I just wanted to spend time with my grandmother, just wanted to give her all the best things in the world, just wanted to spend one more second with her.

The fact that my grandmother's body was becoming less and less mobile gradually made me realize that she was getting old. I started to learn how to sweep the floor, help Grandma pick vegetables, and wash dishes and pots. When faced with her amazed gaze, I just smiled with my teeth. Grandma did not know that in my little heart, a seed of filial piety had been planted. In the morning, Grandma watered the beans and I helped her; at noon, Grandma made lunch and I picked vegetables; in the evening, Grandma was ready to sweep the floor, but I got ahead of her. I don't know what power made me learn to do housework from being a lazybones. I only know that I want to repay my grandmother, I want her to work less and rest more, and I want to return all the love she gave me from childhood to adulthood to her.

Perhaps I have grown up, my mind has become more delicate, and I have also grown up to understand that my grandmother is good to me, not only giving me good food and taking me to play or something, my grandmother poured all my experiences and love into me, my heart. And I, what reason do I have to repay her filial piety? One day in late summer, because of the mild weather I once again dragged my grandmother to the hill behind my house. The big road was still flat and the path remained mysteriously interesting. But this time, I had no choice but to go to the big road, not because it was interesting or because it was a good walk, but because there was Grandma on the big road. It was dusk, a rare sighting of fire clouds, and I took my grandmother's slightly sandy hands and strolled into the sunset. When my grandmother said that the sunset was beautiful, I bared my teeth and held her hands tightly.

The reason for this is that I saw my grandmother in the sunset, I saw me, I saw all the love she had for me, and I saw the same sincere filial heart I had for my grandmother.

Another year, in early summer, with another round of fire clouds, I still look forward to holding my grandmother's hand, with a burning filial heart, walking together in the sunset.

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Ron M Pitts

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