It has been more than a month since the earthquake, and I am back in Aizu 4 weeks after my “evacuation”. During that period, I enjoyed the life in Singapore to the fullest – meeting up with old friends, slacking at home, and most importantly, did my filial piety. Children are born with only one set of parents, and their relationship with their parents is one that is unchangeable. Colleagues come and go, friends can stop being friends, and lovers can break up, but a parent will always remain the parent of his child. And vice versa.

The love parents give is unconditional, and it is all too easy to take it for granted. For example, having your clothes washed and even folded may seem like part of a housewife’s daily work, and being reminded to take your medication – or have them taken to you – may sound like nagging and unneeded concern. I never thought much about such things, until recently when I returned to find how things are nicely laid out for me (except for the occasional missing clothes when they get lost in my sister’s pile). It is therefore important for children to learn how to be independent for them to be able to fully appreciate their parents.

At the same time, parents have to know how to let go of their children, too, and let their children learn how to grow up and do their filial piety every once in a while.

Now that I have succeeded in reassuring my parents that I am safe and will be safe, it is now time for me to work hard and repay them (even if they do not need my money) – yet another form of filial piety.