For One More Day

For One More Day writted by Mitch Albom talks about how a son- Charley Benetto, also known as Chick- treated her mom when she was still alive. He was a daddy’s son. All the things his dad tells him to do, he will follow it without showing any hesitation. Sometimes, he forgot to love his parents equally. It was more obvious when his dad left them when he and his younger sister were still young. Not knowing the reason why their dad left them. He hated his mom very much because he believed that it was her fault why their dad left. Then one day, his dad called and asked him to play baseball in one event. He followed what his dad told him AGAIN and left his mom on her birthday because of the game. He told his mom that he has a client to meet up with and promised to be home the next day. Unfortunately, when he went back after the game, his mom was dead. That’s when his depression has started. Within the span of time that he was depressed, everything became a mess. He felt so much guilt because the last thing he told his mom was a lie. But his mom never said anything. She just let everything be as it is. Even though she knew that Chick was more favorable to his father, it didn’t matter for her. In the depressed days of Chick, he sort of dreamt of hallucinated that he was with her mother for one whole day. In that day, Posey- mom of Chick- revealed many things to him. The biggest of those is the reason why she let her husband left them when she was still alive. Posey knew all the pain and sufferings of Chick, how he’s heart filled with anger towards her but she didn’t say any word.

I guess in the story, I am Posey. I don’t want conflicts and misunderstandings so I tend to keep quiet and just go with the flow. I tend to say “Yes, it’s good” or “Okay, I’ll do it” just to avoid further discussions. I hate enemies or fight that whenever I tried to defend my side or myself then the other side was insisting that they were right or their ideas were better, I just say “Okay” and live with it. Posey was like that. She kept all the hurts and brokenness on how her son treated her for so many years. She brought the heaviness of her heart with a light aura and that made her liked by everyone. She wore a mask for the years that Chick was treating her indifferently yet she didn’t say any word. She accepted it wholly and never defended herself. I see myself in her. Though sometimes, I am weaker than her because when my heart was filled with negative things, I tend to cry and not to speak to anyone and the like but still, the martyr side of me/us was still there. I can relate myself with Posey too in handling the situation. I can accept all the hurts just to protect the one I love. I want to feel all the pains just to free my love from it. And that’s how Posey lived her life until the day that she spent another day with her son.

I know being Posey is hard especially the part where she kept the reason behind the divorce of her and Len. She lets Chick treat her like an enemy and allowed him to answer him disrespectfully. Yes I understand fully why she kept the real reason from her children but the treatment she was getting was too much. It will be painful for Chick and Roberta- her daughter- to accept what had happened but what can she do? It was the truth. I know it will be hard for them to understand their situation but it was her children’s right to know what was really going on. Another thing I would like to do differently is how Len- her husband- and Posey handled their marriage. It was too visible in the story that Len controlled his family especially Chick. He says harsh things towards Posey in front of their children. Of course, it was painful but still, she didn’t say any word. For me, I believe that marriage is not about superiority of one over the other. It is how they face each responsibility, each situation TOGETHER EQUALLY. It is how they support each other and not to bring down the other.

Reading the book made me reflect in Posey’s and Chick’s point of view. With Posey’s situation, I asked myself, “Did I ever make my mom feel such pains as Posey?”- absolutely YES. Maybe in different way but of course, I did give my mom heartaches- consciously or not, the pain was still the same. On the other hand, Chick didn’t live his life well enough with his family. He became selfish and forgot that he has his own family to support with. He gave many pains to many people especially his mom and his wife. Again, I asked myself, “Are there times that I thought of myself first before anyone else?” unfortunately, yes. Though I was like Posey, there are still times that I tend to be emotionally-driven. I hurt people and disregard their concern because I am not feeling good.

Reflecting on those two situations, I came up with one learning. I should think first before I act. I should learn how to weigh things and always consider other people’s feeling. Ever since I was a child, my mom always tell me to think first before I say or do anything because sometimes, I am tactless, insensitive of the things I do or say. Reading the book helped me realize how much pain I could give to anyone with that kind of attitude. I felt the pain they had because I am guilty in letting others feel the pain they once felt.