Submitted to share by one of our faithful readers:
When I was younger, I used to visit my parents only on holidays.
Christmas. Thanksgiving. Maybe a birthday if I wasn’t too busy.
It wasn’t that I didn’t love them — I did, deeply.
But I told myself life was busy.
Work, bills, friends, trips — all those “important” things that fill a calendar but not a heart.
Mom would always say on the phone,
“No need for gifts, honey. Just come by sometime.”
And I’d smile and reply, “Soon, Mom. I’ll come soon.”
But soon has a way of stretching.
One Saturday, I finally had a free afternoon.
No big plans. No appointments.
I thought about calling friends, maybe catching a movie.
Then something in me whispered —
“Go home.”
When I arrived, Dad was sitting on the porch, fixing an old radio.
Mom was in the garden, humming and pulling weeds.
They both looked surprised — the kind of surprise that makes your chest ache a little.
Mom’s hands flew to her mouth.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
I smiled. “Yeah. I just missed you.”
Her eyes softened.
“Oh,” she said quietly, “we missed you too.”
We spent the whole day together — no big plans, no celebration.
Just coffee, laughter, and old photo albums.
Dad told me stories I’d already heard a hundred times.
Mom made her famous apple pie, even though it wasn’t a holiday.
We sat around the kitchen table until the sky outside turned orange and gold.
Before I left, Mom hugged me tight — longer than usual.
“Promise you won’t wait for a special day to come again,” she said softly.
I nodded.
But it wasn’t until months later — when I stopped by again, just because — that I understood what she meant.
Because there will come a time when the chairs at that table aren’t full anymore.
When “next time” won’t come.
And that’s when you realize —
Every ordinary day is a special day.
Every cup of coffee, every shared meal, every conversation about nothing at all —
Those are the moments that make life worth remembering.
Now, I visit often.
No excuses.
No waiting for birthdays or holidays.
Sometimes I just show up with flowers.
Sometimes I bring groceries or sit in the garden with Mom.
Sometimes we just share quiet.
And every time I leave, I hug them like it might be the last time — because someday, it will be.
So don’t wait for Christmas.
Don’t wait for the perfect time.
The perfect time is now.
Because the people who raised you deserve your time — not just your memories.
✨ Moral:
Don’t wait for special days to show love.
Ordinary moments with your parents become the most extraordinary memories of your life.
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Clever Journeys 
Oh, I just love this tear-jerker poem! Kudos to your faithful reader for sharing this “urgent” suggestion. 🙂
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A wonderful story, Jack. I realized as my parent aged, that more visits were required, not just for them, but also for me. I was living in California when I got the news that my father had terminal brain cancer and didn’t have long. We went to the family beach house in Port A for one last fishing trip, and six months later, he was gone, just a few days before Thanksgiving. My mother left us a year later, so my sister and I were left there. Two empty chairs at her dining room table, wishing we could have one more hug from each of them.
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Thankful you were able to have that last fishing trip
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That’s it. Hits the target.
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