“Don’t talk to me about that phone ever again!” he added and turned back to his laptop.
With his back turned, Allan couldn’t see the hurt in his mother’s face. She left his room, feeling rejected, and didn’t ask him for anything for a while.
***
“How’s everything going?” Ruth asked her mother on the phone one day. Mrs.
Sparks was glad to hear from her daughter.
“Everything’s fine over here. Your brother is really studying for his midterms right now,” the older woman responded and sighed.
“Well, now you have lots of distractions with your phone, and the smartwatch is designed to track some of your health. Is it working?” her daughter asked.
“Well, yes.
But I have a bunch of questions, and I can’t ask Allan.”
“Why not?”
“Because he yelled at me the other day. He’s been telling me for a while not to get these silly gadgets because I’m too old to learn to use them, and maybe he was right,” Mrs. Sparks revealed, a tone of sadness in her voice.
Ruth silently fumed at her brother but she didn’t say anything to their mother.
Instead, she assured her that anyone at any age could learn to use those gadgets with some patience and tried to explain a few things over the phone.
***
A ping distracted Allan from his studies. Ruth had sent him a message with a video attached. He thought it might be about his niece and decided to open it later.
But another video came in, and another, and another.
Allan couldn’t ignore it any longer so he opened them. The first one was a digitized home video showing Mrs. Sparks teaching Allan how to walk.
The next video showed her feeding him. In another, he was struggling with math and his mother was patiently tutoring him.
The videos kept coming, and Allan had no idea how or when his sister had digitized their home movies, but he understood her meaning clearly. Obviously, his mother said something about his attitude, and she was teaching him a lesson.
Another message came in, and this time Ruth had written something.
“She was patient with you for many years. You should repay that gesture. Don’t let me be disappointed in you,” she sent, and Allan rubbed his forehead in frustration.
He couldn’t believe how he had treated his mother, who had been his favorite person for many years and the best teacher anyone could have.
Finally, he replied to his sister. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” Then he stood from his desk in his room and went to the living room, where his mother was sitting on the couch.
“Hey, darling,” Mrs.
Sparks greeted. “Are you hungry?”
“No, Mom. Let’s get your phone connected to your smartwatch and I’ll help you learn whatever you want,” he stated, smiling and placing his hands in his pockets in chagrin.
“Really?” she asked enthusiastically and reached for her phone on the coffee table.
He sat with her for hours, answering all her questions, and didn’t complain about it once. Mrs. Sparks learned enough that she didn’t have to bother Allan that much.
But he had learned his lesson.
Source: amomama
