3 lessons why you should take your parents out for a date

Give back to your parents

The best gift your parents can give to you is education. No one can take that away from you. At the same time as children, the best gift you can give to your parents is making sure you graduate on time (if possible with flying colors). 

Not to brag about it, I graduated as Cum Laude. I was not just proud of what I achieved, but also made my parents very, very happy and proud. After graduation, it's repayment time by working, earning and hopefully giving back to your parents. 

Later did I realize that giving back was not as easy as I thought it was. When you really compute about it, your parents spent more than millions just to send you to school: from elementary, high school and college + all the allowances, baons, uniforms, books and on and on. (Oh men, just writing this down, I'm just gave myself a shock esp. now I'm going to be a father real soon.)

You work hard, earn some, save some, spend a lot and more or less, nothing is left to give back. Then, I read one article of Bro Bo Sanchez, a spiritual preacher and a life coach, that he regularly takes his mom on a date. When his kids ask him, "where are you going dad?" His response: "I'm taking your lola for a date." It struck me that given the time that they have, I know I may not be able to fully repay them. So I decided, I should do that to (and so should you.) 

Here are three important lessons I realized when I took them out for a date:

1. They want you to be generous.

Just as God the Father in heaven want you to give a portion of your income, not because He needs it, but because He wants you to be generous. And so are your parents. You can never outdo their generosity. When I give them money, they give it back to me in the form of bananas, few kilos of rice, or a subsidy for gasoline. So take them out for a date and tell them, it's on me. 

Your parent's smiles are priceless

2. Creating memories is priceless. 

Seeing my mom and dad smile is priceless. Take them out to someplace new. Let them experience something they haven't tried. Take a lot of pictures and selfies. Create memories. And my heart just swells when they say, "nanu karon pa man ta kasuway ani ui, na tiguwang nata?" (why is it just now that experience this, now that we are old?) 

3. Taking them out for a date is like saying, "they have done a great job"

I remember my mom telling me stories on how she cared for her parents. And as the golden rule says: "Do unto others what you want them to do unto you." Take them out to a date, with and without telling them directly, they will know that they have done a great job in raising you up. 

A date with parents

As Bro Bo then said, "Raising kids can be done by modeling. And by letting them see that I take my mom out to a date regularly, I know, they are gonna be great kids."

So go take your parents out for a date, while you can, while you STILL can. Create memories, and tell them they have done a great job raising an amazing and generous YOU. 

Invest in your growth,

Tiyo Pilo