I took my son to sit for an entrance exam into one of the reputable secondary schools. As I sat waiting for my little boy to finish his exams, trusting that he will do well, so many thoughts ran wild in my mind. Wow! How the years have flow by, my son will soon be going off to secondary school. There was a certain excitement of witnessing my son proceeding to the next phase of formation, towards becoming a great man in future. But at the same time, I struggled with the guilt feeling of my motherly instinct to hang on to him and not let him go, still thinking he is that same baby who I changed his diapers and wiped his nose.
I asked myself two questions:
• Should my concern not be more about how he grows into a great man, rather than of trying to hang on to him?
• Am I willing to let him out of my hold, and send him into an entirely different world that I have no control or influence over?
A voice interrupted my reflections. One of the mothers at the venue verbalized her own concerns to some of the other women present. She was positing why her child was going to be a day student rather than a boarder: “My child is not going to boarding school ooh! Who will wash his clothes and iron them for him eh? Especially these days that the teachers don’t even pay attention to the children.” Another member of the group interjected with a question that shocked her from the look on her face: “Madam you mean your child at this age cannot wash his own clothes? So what have you been teaching him? Oh let me guess. Even to make his bed must be a story for another day?”
I got up to leave, but it was at that point the woman wanted to give her answer to the question posed to her. I paused to listen to her answer. Well just as I know you want to know too what her response was, you will have to find out in my next article where I conclude this story.
Till I write again I love you for reading.
Ada.
Photo-Credit: ebony.com