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Recently, my friend asked me the reason why I posted the first article “Oh, mom! I love you!” and dedicated it to my mom. In truth, I never told her that I loved her and I was thankful for what she did for me. I had tears in my eyes as I wrote this. It pained me that I did not tell her and I will not have anymore chances because she passed away many years ago. How I wish she were alive, then I could hug her and express my gratitude and appreciation toward her.
On my trip to China at the end of August, I had a conversation with a woman who was in a hurry to go back to Shanghai to visit her sick mother. She was weeping and worried that her mom would not make it this time.
She kept telling me what she wanted to do when she went back. One thing that she had in mind was to wash her mom’s hands and feet. Seeing me puzzled, she told a story about a young man.
Once an outstanding young man went to a big company to apply for a manager position. He passed the preliminary examination, then he was interviewed by the president, who would make the final decision for hiring. The president discovered that this young man scored high throughout his studies. As such, he started to question about who paid for his tuition. Unexpectedly, the young man told him that his mother took care of that because his father passed away when he was one year old.
He thought that his mother must have held the high position in some company to be able to take care of this young man’s tuition. Yet he was told the mother was washing laundry for the customers. Thereby, he asked this man to show him his hands–only to discover his hands were soft and without blemish. Out of his curiosity, he asked whether he has ever cleaned the laundry for his mother. Just as he expected, the answer was no, because the young man was told to spend more time studying by his mother, and also she washed the clothes faster than him.
The president requested him to go home to wash his mom’s hands and come back the next day to see him. With somewhat positive feeling of chance being hired , he was very happy to follow the president’s quest. At first his mom was shocked by son’s unusual request, but she gave him her hands anyway. As he held these wrinkled, rough, and wounded hands, he could not help shedding his tears. He discovered that her hands had been seriously damaged and the wounded area caused great pain to her when touched by the water. He finally realized these hands with bruises helped to make money to pay for his tuition, and make who he is now.
After washing his mother’s hands, he quietly finished washing the remaining uncleaned clothes for her. They talked for a very long time that night.
The next day, he went back to president’s office. Seeing the swollen eyes of this man, the president asked him what had transpired the night before. The young man told him that he followed the president’s instruction to wash his mom’s hands and finished washing the remaining clothes. The president then asked about his feelings. He told the president that he learned to appreciate his mom who helped him to become a successful person. His mom paid the price and sacrificed so much in order to help him to where he is now. What a fantastic mom she is and how precious this relationship is.
The president was moved by his remarks and told him that he was just the person that he was looking for. He wanted someone who appreciates others’ hard work and not someone who makes money as first priority.
Because of the president’s visionary request was fulfilled, he hired this young man and was greatly rewarded in return. Later, this young man with his appreciative attitude, was loved by his subordinates and together they work hard as a team, and the company grew tremendously because of their teamwork.
