08/09/2026
THE EMPTY CHAIR
Every morning, an old man would make two cups of tea.
His neighbors noticed it, but nobody asked him about it.
One day, a little boy finally asked, “Grandpa, who are you making the second cup for?”
The old man looked at the empty chair beside him and smiled.
“Nobody,” he said. “My wife used to sit there.”
The boy didn't know what to say.
The old man continued, “When she was alive, I thought we had plenty of time. There were things I wanted to tell her, places I wanted to take her, and apologies I thought I could make later.”
He paused.
“But later came, and she was gone.”
That hit the boy differently.
Sometimes we act like the people we love will always be around.
We ignore their calls because we're busy. We postpone visits. We hold grudges over things that won't even matter five years from now.
Then one day, we would give anything just to hear their voice again.
If you still have your mother, call her.
If you still have your father, check on him.
If someone matters to you, don't be too proud to tell them.
Don't wait until you're standing in front of an empty chair before you realize how precious the person who once sat there was.
Life doesn't give us unlimited time.
Love people while you still have them.
