Last night my 1-year-old son had fever. Not serious, just regular fever. But I couldn’t sleep properly.
And suddenly I remembered something from 21 years ago that never made sense to me.
Until now.
The Accident I Barely Remember:
I was 7 years old, playing on my bicycle outside our I-10 house.
My Chachu was there watching me.
I went onto the road. A car hit me.
I flew in the air, landed on the car’s bonnet, then fell on the road.
Family rushed me to the hospital in I-9. Someone called my father, he was at old airport road.
What I Never Understood:
I remember the car ride back home from hospital.
My father was sitting next to me. He had tears in his eyes and broken face.
I was looking at him thinking: “Yaar inko kia masla hai? I’m fine now.”
I genuinely didn’t understand why he was so upset. The accident was over. Doctors checked me. I was okay.
That confusion stayed with me for years.
Last Night It Made Sense:
My son just had fever. Not even an accident. Just normal fever.
And I kept checking on him. Couldn’t focus on anything else.
Then I thought about my father that day.
Getting the call: “Your son was hit by a car.”
Driving from airport road to I-9 hospital, not knowing if I was alive or how badly hurt.
The scenarios that must have run through his mind during that drive.
The Part I Missed:
I only saw him in the car coming back home with tears.
I didn’t see the panic when he got the call.
I didn’t see that drive where he didn’t know what he’d find.
I just saw “Papa upset for no reason” because to me everything was already fine.
Now I Understand Why He Had Tears in His Eyes
Not because the danger was over.
But because of the drive he had just made from airport road to I-9 hospital, every second not knowing if I was alive, badly injured, or worse.
That drive where his mind probably showed him the worst scenarios.
That drive where he probably made every possible dua.
That drive where every traffic light, every slow car ahead must have felt like torture.
And then he saw me. Sitting. Talking. Confused about why he was upset.
The relief, the exhaustion, everything he held inside during that drive, it came out as tears.
I thought he was crying for no reason.
He was crying because of a journey I never saw.
What Changed:
You can’t understand your parents until you become a parent yourself.
Last night with just a fever, I would’ve done anything to make my son comfortable.
I can’t imagine what my father felt driving from airport road that day, not knowing if his son was even alive.
It took me becoming a father to finally get it.
The Reality:
Your children won’t understand your fears. Not until they have their own children.
They’ll think you’re overreacting.
By the time they understand, it’s often too late to properly thank you.
That’s just how it works.
Alhamdulillah my son’s fever was nothing serious and Alhamdulillah I survived that accident 21 years ago.
Some things you only understand decades later.
Umar H.
Originally posted on Facebook on 31 December 2025.
