Darío had to move in with his son Pedro after their house burned down. He felt he was overwhelming him and considered living in a nursing home as the solution.
“I’m telling you, Dario. Your son will soon lose his mind and ask you to move out. It’s better to be proactive and find something else on your own before that happens and the relationship suffers,” Dario heard Maria say once again. She’d been talking about it since they started drinking tea on her son’s porch.
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Darío Hernández’s house had burned down two months earlier while he was at the supermarket, and he suffered a heart attack when he got home. He was taken to the hospital, and his son, Pedro, and his wife had insisted he move in with them when he recovered. But they were a couple in their thirties with three young children, and now they had to deal with an elderly man in their house.
Dario worried that he would be a burden for a while, but they insisted they loved having him around, and the grandchildren were always happy to hear his stories. But Pedro’s neighbor, Maria, who was about Dario’s age, told him otherwise.
“Do you think Pedro and his wife are too polite to tell me to move out?” asked Darío while sipping tea.
Maria took a sip from her cup and nodded vehemently. “Of course it was! It happened to me, and I was only with my daughter for three weeks. She blamed me for everything that went wrong. She said I was too loud in the mornings and that I was driving up her electricity bill. My house was just being fumigated, but I swear I wanted to come back,” she continued. “It’s been a while since we last spoke.”
Dario nodded, thinking Maria might be right. Obviously, her son was much more polite because he didn’t have a single bad word to say about Dario.
He also noticed that Pedro and his wife, Sandra, were coming home later and later. He was happy to babysit the children for them, but perhaps, he thought, they weren’t happy to see him in their house. He decided it might be time to move.
That night, when he got home, the old man called his son and suggested he move him to a nursing home, but Pedro said they should resume the conversation later. “Dad, now’s not the time for that. We’ll talk about it later.”
Several months passed, and Dario was worried. Pedro and his wife seemed exhausted every time they came home, although they always smiled for him. He hadn’t brought up the nursing home topic again, but it was time to try again. He had enough savings to pay for a decent assisted living facility, so it wouldn’t be terrible.
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He’d even gone online to look for places, and there was one near his son’s house. He printed out the information and was ready to show it to Pedro.
“Okay, Dad. Let’s visit him tomorrow,” Pedro agreed that night, and Dario was relieved. Maria had again insisted on their extended stay, and Dario was worried it would ruin his bond with his son and the family.
So the next morning, Dario climbed into the passenger seat of Pedro’s car and they started driving toward the nursing home he’d suggested. For some reason, Pedro made several turns, and Dario frowned. “Are you sure this is the right way? I feel like we’re going in circles,” he said to his son.
“Don’t worry, Dad. We have to stop by the market first,” Pedro replied, his hands on the wheel and his eyes focused on the road.
Dario nodded and remained calm. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn’t notice when Pedro stopped the car. “Oh, get me a bag of chips, please,” Dario said distractedly.
“We’re not in the market, Dad. Look up,” Pedro said. Dario raised his head and looked at his son, who pointed toward the passenger window. The old man turned and realized they were on his old street, right in front of his house.
The last image he remembered of that place was one of ash and pain. Darío had bought the house with his wife and raised Pedro there. Seeing it destroyed after a massive short circuit in the kitchen had been too much for his old man’s heart.
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But the image he saw now was nothing like what he remembered. The house was back in shape. It was completely remodeled. Dario raised his eyebrows at his son. “I can’t believe you did this,” he whispered.
“Of course I did. Well, we did. Sandra worked to find the best quotes available,” Pedro added with a huge smile on his face.
“It’s too much money, Pedro. Let me pay you back,” Darío said, crying.
“Of course not. Did you think I was going to let my dad live in a nursing home? I don’t know where you got that crazy idea. Besides, you and Mom raised me in that house. We absolutely can’t lose it, even though I have one of my own a few blocks away. I love this house, and this is more than you deserve for everything you did for me growing up,” Pedro said.
Darío continued to cry, and his son gave him a big hug. They toured the new house, which Pedro and Sandra had also furnished, although it was now more modern.
Dario couldn’t believe his son had done this, and now he understood why they always came home late. He also realized he shouldn’t have listened to his nosy neighbor, Maria. Clearly, she was wrong.
What can we learn from this story?
- Every person’s life is different: Maria told Darío that his son would grow tired of her presence in his house, judging from her own experience, but she was completely wrong. Because what happened to her wouldn’t necessarily happen to Darío.
- Take care of your parents in their old age: Sometimes, putting your parents in a nursing home is unavoidable, but take care of them if you can because family is the only thing that matters in this world.
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This story was inspired by a reader’s story and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images shown are for illustrative purposes only. Share your story with us; it could change someone’s life. If you’d like to share yours, please send it to [email protected] .
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