Sister Bu has entered old age, and every dusk, she will sit on her old rattan chair, watching the afterglow of the sunset fall leisurely, while thinking about her children and grandchildren.
Many years ago, Sister Bu's eldest son, Xiao Ming, bought a house in the provincial capital, and soon after his wife gave birth to a lovely daughter named Xiao Fang.
Xiao Ming's wife is a flight attendant who often goes out on business, and she usually has no time to take care of Xiao Fang's diet and daily life. So Xiao Ming wrote a letter to ask Sister Bu to come to the provincial capital to help take care of Xiao Fang for a while.
The night she received the letter, Sister Bu was so excited that she couldn't sleep, and she couldn't wait to meet her lovely granddaughter, Xiaofang. Early the next morning, Sister Bu happily boarded the train to Province S and came to the home of Xiao Ming's family.
When Sister Bu held Xiaofang in her arms for the first time, she felt that her heart was full of happiness, she hummed a childhood song softly, and looked at Xiaofang's innocent sleeping face, tears couldn't help but welled up in her eyes.
At the beginning, Sister Bu loved Xiaofang very much, and would often take her to the park to play, buy her favorite candy, and wear beautiful clothes. Whenever Xiaofang said that she wanted a new toy, Sister Bu would not hesitate to buy it for her, looking at Xiaofang's happy appearance, Sister Bu felt very relieved.
Xiao Ming and his wife often give Sister Bu some living expenses to express their gratitude. So, Sister Bu enthusiastically took on the responsibility of bringing her granddaughter.
As the days passed, Sister Bu gradually began to pay more non-essential expenses to Xiaofang. For example, Xiaofang originally drank ordinary domestic baby milk powder, but Sister Bu began to buy some more expensive imported milk powder.
She usually wears cheap cotton dresses, but Sister Bu always buys some branded brand-name children's clothes for her. Even, Sister Bu also took the initiative to sign up for various talent courses for Xiaofang, such as painting, dance, English, etc.
Xiao Fang was originally a lively and active little girl, and after participating in these classes, she became more cheerful. However, Sister Bu didn't realize that it would cost a huge amount of money.
Over the course of a month, the cost of milk powder, clothes and various courses is as high as thousands of yuan. This is seriously beyond the capacity of Sister Bu's own pension.
Xiao Ming and his wife are grateful for their mother's efforts, but they are also worried about her financial ability. But in the face of Sister Bu's enthusiasm, they were embarrassed to dissuade them.
Sister Bu herself was deeply immersed in the joy of being able to meet Xiaofang's needs infinitely, not realizing that it had taken up too much of her savings.
What's even more heart-wrenching is that this obvious partiality and doting also caused the dissatisfaction of Sister Bu's youngest son, Xiao Gang. Xiao Gang thinks that his mother is biased towards taking care of the eldest brother's family and does not treat the two children fairly.
He complained to his mother on the phone many times, hoping that she would not spend so much money on Xiaofang, but he could not change his mother's mind.
In a blink of an eye, Sister Bu has been helping to take Xiaofang in the provincial capital for a year. In the past year, Sister Bu has paid for Xiaofang's various additional expenses, far exceeding her imagination.
One day, Sister Bu sat alone on a park bench, she silently took out her account book and carefully calculated the specific amount of various expenses for the year.
At this moment, Sister Bu suddenly realized that she should not pay so many non-essential expenses for short-term satisfaction, which has seriously affected her quality of life and caused Xiao Gang's misunderstanding.
So Sister Bu mustered up all her courage and asked Xiao Ming to confess the problem. She said that she could no longer bear such a heavy financial burden as before, and hoped that Xiao Ming would understand.
As a mother, she only wants to do her best to take care of Xiaofang's daily life without paying extra expenses. Although Xiao Ming was a little disappointed, he also understood his mother's difficulties and said that he would reduce her burden.
Sister Bu also specially called Xiao Gang to explain the situation, expressed her apologies, and hoped that Xiao Gang would not misunderstand, she would treat the two children fairly. After listening to his mother's sincere explanation, Xiao Gang's resentment also dissipated, and he began to learn to understand his mother's difficulties.
Since then, Sister Bu's life has become much easier. She rediscovered the joy of retirement and saved a lot of her savings.
Sister Bu would take Xiaofang for a walk in the nearby park and watch her run and play happily in the garden. Sister Bu would squat down and play with Xiaofang in the sand, listening to her innocent thoughts.
At night, Sister Bu would tell Xiaofang some classical children's stories and watch her fall asleep in her arms.
On weekends, Sister Bu would take Xiaofang back to her hometown to visit Xiaogang's family. Xiao Fang happily played with her cousins, and Sister Bu looked at them with a satisfied smile on her face.
Sister Bu's change also made Xiao Ming and his wife look at her with admiration. They no longer impose the burden of taking care of Xiaofang on Sister Bu, but will regularly give Sister Bu some living expenses.
Xiao Ming knew that when his mother was sick, he would rush back to take care of him as soon as possible. Xiao Gang not only often calls home to visit his mother, but also sends organic vegetables that he grows himself.
Seeing Xiaofang growing up healthy and happy, as well as the considerate care of the children, Sister Bu felt extremely relieved and happy. She found the importance of family harmony, even as she lived a glorious old age.
Through the story of Sister Bu, we have gained a good revelation:
As an elderly person, when helping to bring out grandchildren, you can't just show love and ignore the boundaries of financial ability. Regular payment of non-essential expenses, such as brand-name supplies and various courses, will not only quickly deplete the savings of the elderly, but may also cause a sense of unfairness among family members due to display.
It is advisable for the elderly to discuss with their children in advance the scope of their respective responsibilities. There should be a rough consensus on which expenses should be paid for by the elderly and which need to be borne by children.
For large expenses, such as attending classes, it is recommended that children bear their own expenses.
At the same time, as an elderly person, you should also pay attention to keeping some savings, which can not only cope with emergencies, but also be used for later life. After retirement, you can travel and learn Xi new skills to enrich your life, but don't spend all your savings, otherwise your life will be difficult in your later years.
On the other hand, children should also put themselves in the shoes of the elderly and not impose excessive financial burdens on the elderly. It is necessary to always care about the feelings of the elderly and provide certain support for living expenses.
The most important thing for family harmony is mutual understanding and consideration.
As long as the elderly retain a moderate level of economic independence and their children are able to understand the elderly, it will not be difficult to live in harmony for generations. Let's get inspired by Sister Bu's story, cherish our family, support each other, and paint a happy life together.