Story about happiness: Just five more minutes please

One fine Sunday morning, a woman sat down on a bench near the playground in the town park. She smiled warmly as she turned to the man sitting beside her and pointed to a little boy in a red T-shirt who was gliding down the slide. “That’s my son over there,” she said, pride evident in her voice.7 The man glanced toward the slide and nodded. “He’s a fine-looking boy,” he replied before gesturing toward the swings. “That’s my son over there, in the blue T-shirt.” For a moment, they sat in comfortable silence, watching the children laugh and play. Then, the man checked his watch and called out to his son. “What do you say we go, Jack?” The boy on the swings, Jack, looked up with pleading eyes. “Just five more minutes, Dad. Please?” The man smiled and nodded. “Just five more minutes.” Jack grinned and continued to swing, kicking his legs forward and back, letting the breeze rush past him. The woman watched the scene unfold, admiring the father’s patience. More time passed, and once again, the man stood and called to his son. “Time to go now?” Jack’s response was the same as before, his voice full of hope. “Five more minutes, Dad. Just five more minutes.” Without hesitation, the man nodded again. “O.K.”

The woman turned to him, astonished. “My, you certainly are a patient father,” she said, her voice filled with admiration. The man’s smile softened, but there was a weight behind it. He let out a slow breath before speaking. “My older son, John, was killed by a drunk driver last year while he was riding his bike near here.” His voice was steady, but the pain was unmistakable. “I never spent much time with John. I was always busy, too many meetings, too much work, always something that seemed more important at the time. And now, I’d give anything for just five more minutes with him.” The woman’s heart ached as she listened, realizing the depth of his sorrow. The man looked back at Jack, still swinging joyfully. “I’ve vowed not to make the same mistake with Jack,” he continued. “You see, he thinks he has five more minutes to swing. But the truth is, I get five more minutes to watch him play, to be present, to cherish the moments that I once took for granted.” The woman sat in silence, absorbing his words. She thought about her own life, the moments she rushed through, the times she had put off playing with her son or listening to his stories because there was always something else to do. The man’s story was a reminder, a powerful lesson about the fleeting nature of time and the importance of cherishing the present. As they sat there, watching the children laugh and play, the woman made a silent promise to herself that she would never again be too busy to give her child five more minutes.