On that breezy Sunday, Wang Li and I sat on the sofa in the living room where the sun shined through the curtains, and I was thinking about this home, how we built this harbor of love brick by brick.
My heart was filled with pride and contentment, and I thought about how lucky our children would be to grow up in such a family.
Li Qiang stood at the door of the living room, and the sunlight reflected his figure a little long and a little hesitant.
He made us a request that he thought was reasonable: "Mom, Dad, I think it's time to transfer the house to me." "His gaze is determined and serious, just like he used to look like when he used to fight for first place in school.
Wang Li and I glanced at each other, and the wordless tacit understanding was the tranquility of the years. Our rejection is not out of distrust of him, but out of deeper consideration of life.
I said slowly: "Qiangqiang, my parents' idea is that I hope you can earn everything that belongs to you, including the house. This kind of accomplishment is something we can't give you. ”
I could feel his loss, his shoulders slightly lowered, and the smile on his lips stiffened. I knew our decision might have been too harsh for his age.
But we want him to understand that his parents' rejection is to hope that he can grow up in the wind and rain, not in the greenhouse. What we want to give him is the power to take root in the soil of life, not just a piece of real estate deed.
I watched him turn and go upstairs, and I felt an indescribable sourness in my heart. I know that this decision may take a temporary loss of temperature for this home, but I firmly believe that this is the beginning of being responsible for his future.
Wang Li held my hand tightly, and her eyes told me that we would walk this road together.
I felt that the air in the home was frozen because of the silence, and every tiny movement seemed to be invisibly amplified, the dissatisfaction of my son Li Qiang and the indifference of my daughter-in-law Cheng Yue were like two invisible walls, separating us.
Their attitude is like a silent cry, wanting to tear apart the harmony of this family. They tried to express their dissatisfaction and challenge to our decision with silence through an emotional offensive.
Cheng Yue's extreme tactics made the situation even more tense, and she even offered to exclude Wang Li and I from their life circles.
At the other end of each silence, there is a silent questioning of our decision. I began to question whether we were really doing everything right as our children were growing up.
During that time, I often woke up in the middle of the night, looking out the window at the night sky, full of confusion and self-blame.
Home, once our common safe haven, is now in jeopardy at the beheaval of our son's request. Wang Li no longer has the peace she used to have, she has become sentimental, and her eyes often have tears.
The tightness of the crisis forced me to reflect. I began to try to see it through my son's eyes, trying to understand his dissatisfaction and anxiety.
I find that behind our insistence, we may overlook the importance of honest communication with our children, and we think that we give them everything in life, but we may not give them the understanding and respect they crave most.
Finally, one early morning, I decided that no matter what the outcome was, I had to try to mend the rift.
I said to Wang Li: "We can't go on like this anymore, it's time to sit down and talk like a real family." She nodded, and I knew that whether it was a storm or a rainbow, we would all face it together.
After that long period of silence and conflict, Wang Li and I finally decided to take action. We invited Li Qiang and Cheng Yue to our home, full of hesitation and uneasiness, but more of a determination to yearn for understanding and reconciliation. We sat around the living room, the room that used to be full of laughter, and it bears witness to so much of the warm past.
I opened my mouth, my voice trembling a little, "Qiangqiang, Yueyue, we may not be expressing our love and concern enough.
We have heard you. It is not you that we reject, but an attitude towards life. Between words, I tried to translate my previously silent voice into words, hoping that they would understand the meaning behind it.
Then, the four of us had a long conversation, and Wang Li and I candidly shared our concerns and expectations, and also listened to Li Qiang and Cheng Yue's thoughts.
We explained why we refused to transfer the property in the first place, not out of distrust of them, but because we wanted them to be more independent and stronger.
After careful consideration, we decided to make adjustments to the will, leaving the children not only with property, but more importantly with the values of the family and the wisdom of life.
We decided to leave all our possessions fairly to our filial daughter, as well as our hard-working son, to let them know that every decision we made was for their future.
After that conversation, the knot between Li Qiang and Cheng Yue began to slowly unravel, and they began to understand our good intentions as parents. Although reconciliation is not achieved overnight, the heart that is willing to reconnect is already a bridge to reconnect.
Things gradually subsided. We have regained the warmth of home, and everyone's hearts have grown and understood a little more.
After going through that storm, we all learned that family is not a safe haven forever, and sometimes it needs to be maintained together. Now, we cherish each other even more, because we know that only when we have experienced the wind and rain together, the harbor of home will be warmer.