My mother used to ask me what the most important part of the body is. Through the years, I would take a guess at what I thought was the correct answer.
When I was younger, I thought sound was very important to us as humans, so I said, "My ears, Mommy."
She said, "No. Many people are deaf. But you keep thinking about it and I will ask you again soon."
妈妈过去常会问我身体最重要的部分是什么。几年来，我一直在想我认为正确的答案。
小的时候，我认为声音对我们人类来说很重要，所以我说：“是我的耳朵，妈妈。”
而她却说：“不是。很多人都听不到声音呀。不过你要继续想这个问题，不久我还会再问你的。”
Several years passed before she asked me again. Since making my first attempt, I had contemplated the correct answer. So this time I told her, "Mommy, sight is very important to everybody, so it must be our eyes."
She looked at me and told me, "You are learning fast, but the answer is not correct because there are many people who are blind."
Stumped again, I continued my quest for knowledge and over the years, Mother asked me a couple more times and always her answer was, "No. But you are getting smarter every year, my child."
Then last year, my grandpa died. Everybody was hurt. Everybody was crying. Even my father cried. I remember that especially because it was only the second time I saw him cry.
My Mom looked at me when it was our turn to say our final good-bye to grandpa. She asked me, "Do you know the most important body part yet, my son?"
I was shocked when she asked me this then. I always thought this was a game between her and me.
She saw the confusion on my face and told me, "This question is very important. It shows that you have really lived in your life. For every answer you gave me in the past, I have told you that you were wrong and I have given you an example why. But today is the day you need to learn this important lesson."
She looked down at me as only a mother can. I saw her eyes well up with tears. She said, "Son, the most important body part is your shoulder."
I asked, "Is it because it holds up my head?" She replied, "No, it is because it can hold the head of a friend or a loved one when they cry. Everybody needs a shoulder to cry on sometime in life, my son. I only hope that you have enough love and friends that you will always have a shoulder to cry on when you need it."
