Day: March 15, 2016

“A journey of a lifetime start with a single step everyone says! Well for me, it was several steps at different directions, said this great woman in retrospect. You see, young lady, I was one of those with so much life within and live in the present, although with eyes always in the future. What is in the horizon? What will tomorrow be like was always on my mind?  Though without so much of a thought about the connection between the present and the future. You see, today does not necessarily indicate how tomorrow may be, however it could be a projection of how tomorrow will be”, she said.

“It was a wonderful childhood my lady”, she said to me. “Our farm was full of adventure, there was always something new and interesting to do. I read Shakespeare, listened to folklores as much as I read the daily newspaper. I climbed on trees to pluck pears to eat in the shade, tilled the soil with hoes, ate fresh pineapple, fed pigs and danced to the music of those days. It was a beautiful life!!” She exclaimed.

 

“I grew up with the finest of both worlds, quiet farm life and urban life in a world beyond my horizon in books. Each novel, article and books that I read came alive in my eyes. I saw myself living in Paris, Scotland, and Brisbane through books. I had a very broad imagination and was very curious to know more. It was a fun filled and secured childhood.”

“Tell me more”, I prompted. “Well, I had other experiences that I did not understand then, but now, it seems to make sense. There was always a fuss around me. My father spoilt me to the teeth, though alongside discipline. My mother was the tough one, Oh my, I got whipped so much. My Father was told I looked like the mother he never knew, so I always see his softer side. Grandma died when my father was around six years old and was raised by his aunt. Well this is about me and not my father. What else do you want to know curious one?”, she enquired.”Everything”, I exclaimed!!!

“Talking about discipline, there was a day my father gave everyone chores to do after napping. Everyone got up and did their chores, while I pretended to be asleep. When my father came home at night time and found out I did not do my chores, he made me do it in the middle of the night while everyone else slept, and it was in the dark, in the forest all alone. I learnt a valuable lesson that day, that I have not seized sharing with my kids, grandkids, and many more including you now. It was a scary day. Hmmmmm!”

“Life soon changed dramatically for me when my father died. I grew up within a space of seventy two hours. I had to care for my mother and young ones. I had not learnt how to cook and suddenly now, I had to cook as many of the farm hands and paid employees left soon after his death.  The world that I know was changing so fast for me and I could not wrap my mind around it. It was not my imagination now, this is real I told myself. He is gone for real! Dad is gone! A new chapter unfolds. I will tell you more soon after this cup of tea” she said.