Today I want to share a true story with you, listen carefully to me slowly!
My name is Aunt Li, I am 62 years old and I am a retired kindergarten teacher. I have two children, the eldest son is married and the younger is in college. Since my eldest daughter-in-law gave birth to her grandson 6 years ago, I have been taking care of the children, and I can say that I am wholehearted.
In the past 6 years, I have put in countless efforts for my grandson. I remember one time when he was sick and had a high fever, I stayed in front of his bed all night, wiping his sweat and feeding him medicine. I was so worried that something would happen to him. I was relieved when his fever finally subsided.
In addition to taking care of my grandchildren, I am also responsible for the family's food and daily life. Every morning I have to go to the market to buy fresh ingredients and prepare the family's meals. At night, I have to help take care of the child and put him to sleep. It can be said that I have hardly had any time for myself in these 6 years.
However, something happened recently that made me feel a little lost. The eldest son and daughter-in-law need to travel for a while because of work, and there is no one at home to take care of the grandson and in-laws. So they discussed asking a nanny to help, and the in-laws also expressed their willingness to help during this time.
When I heard the news, I felt a little uncomfortable. I know they're doing it for work, for family, but I still feel a little lost. After all, I have been working silently for the past 6 years, and there is no credit and hard work. But I also understand that it's not their problem, it's my own mentality that needs to be adjusted.
So I readily agreed to their request and said that I would take a good rest during this time. The day I left home, I felt a little reluctant. But I knew this was what I was supposed to do, for my family, for my grandchildren, for myself.
During my time at home, I traveled to many places to relax. I also hang out with old friends and chat. I found that there is still a lot of beauty in life waiting for me to discover and experience. Instead of focusing only on family, children, and chores, I am more focused on my own feelings and needs.
Three months later, my daughter-in-law came to me out of the blue. She said apologetically: "Mom, thank you so much for this time! We really didn't expect you to get along so well! We will definitely cherish you even more in the future!" I felt very relieved and moved after hearing these words. It turned out that they didn't understand me and disrespected me, but they just ignored my feelings and dedication because of work pressure and family trivialities.
This experience made me realize that family and children are important, but it is more important that your feelings and needs are met. Only when we truly pay attention to ourselves and love ourselves can we better love others, take care of our families and children. At the same time, we must also learn to adjust our mentality and emotions, and not let loss and dissatisfaction occupy our mental space.
This story tells us that we must learn to pay attention to our own feelings and needs in life, learn to communicate and understand in the family, learn to balance work and family at work, and learn to grow and progress in life.