For a loving parent, there is nothing more precious than their children. Nothing matters more than their children’s safety and secured future. However, due to the demands of today’s society, parents find it hard to keep up with their children.
If there’s one thing that parents are guilty of, it is making their children feel as if they are being taken for granted. In the desire to provide children with a promising future, parents are doing everything they can to make ends meet.
Sometimes, putting food on the table means missing your children’s parents-students activities, overlooking the drawings they have been meaning to show you, and being too exhausted to pay attention to what they are saying. Basically, no matter how much parents would love to be there for their children, there will be times where they simply couldn’t be there to make priceless memories with them.
Thus, when Richard Pringle, lost his beloved son, Hughie, almost 2 years ago from a brain hemorrhage no amount of words could paint a vivid picture of how devastated he was. Little Hughie was only 3 years old when his life was taken by a severe brain hemorrhage.
“There was only a 5% chance of a bleed, but unfortunately that 5% chance happened last year and he didn’t survive,” The grieving father explained in one of his interviews.
A year after little Hughie’s untimely death, Richard found himself writing a list of the most important things he learned from the painful experience. Richard shared his list on Facebook hoping that his unfortunate experience could teach parents a valuable lesson in life.
Richard posted his list on Facebook which reads as:
The 10 Most Important Things I’ve Learnt Since Losing My Son
1. ”You can never ever kiss and love too much. ”
2. ”You always have time. Stop what you’re doing and play, even if it’s just for a minute. Nothing’s that important that it can’t wait. ”
3. ”Take as many photos and record as many videos as humanly possible. One day that might be all you have.”
4. ”Don’t spend money, spend time. You think what you spend matters? It doesn’t. What you do matters. Jump in puddles, go for walks. Swim in the sea, build a camp and have fun. That’s all they want. I can’t remember what we bought Hughie I can only remember what we did.”
5. ”Sing. Sing songs together. My happiest memories are of Hughie sitting on my shoulders or sitting next to me in the car singing our favorite songs. Memories are created in music.”
6. ”Cherish the simplest of things. Night times, bedtimes, reading stories. Dinners together. Lazy Sundays. Cherish the simplest of times. They are what I miss the most. Don’t let those special times pass you by unnoticed”.
7. ”Always kiss those you love goodbye and if you forget. Go back and kiss them. You never know if it’s the last time you’ll get the chance.”
8. ”Make boring things fun. Shopping trips, car journeys, walking to the shops. Be silly, tell jokes, laugh, smile and enjoy yourselves. They’re only chores if you treat them like that. Life is too short not to have fun.”
9. ”Keep a journal. Write down everything your little ones do that lights up your world. The funny things they say, the cute things they do. We only started doing this after we lost Hughie. We wanted to remember everything. Now we do it for Hettie and we will for Hennie too. You’ll have these memories written down forever and when your older you can look back and cherish every moment.”
10. ”If you have your children with you. To kiss goodnight. To have breakfast with. To walk to school. To take to university. To watch get married. You are blessed. Never ever forget that.”
Parents are still human beings, and they sure have limitations. We cannot protect our children from mortality, but we have all the power in the world to make every moment of their life that they spend with us all worth it. Do not forget to make every memory count.
Photos | Richard Pringle