Recollection of a money box

Today while at the Post Office, I saw a little gold-coloured cash box. It looked like the one I have at home; a reminder of an event that happened about twenty years ago. A feeling of sad remorse came over me when I thought about it. You see, about two decades ago, my two sons then about 3 to 6 years old took all their "ang-pow" money and spent it all on buying two money boxes from a bookshop near our home. It was the first time in their young lives that they purchased anything on their own. Obviously they did not know the value of money then.

I can imagine two little boys, excited with all the ang-pow money they had collected over the Chinese New Year, walking into a shop all by themselves. I should have been very proud of them. Instead, I flew into a rage when I came back from work and threw the boxes across the floor. I thought it was time I gave them their first lesson in economics. Now, older and wiser, I should have cherished them for their innocent way of expressing what they wanted; a money box to keep their savings. What an idiot I was! How I must have crushed them! Now my two sons are adults and this incident fortunately have not affected them one way or the other; thank God! As for me, I will have to live with the occasional remorse that I missed an opportunity to react as a good parent should, and show love to them at an important point in their young lives. One can only look back, but will never be able to change something in the past. Therefore live life the way you want to remember it in the future.