Endline….. In the long run

It is amazing how certain things one's parents kept repeating ad-nauseum when we were children remain plastered in our heads for the rest of...

It is amazing how certain things one’s parents kept repeating ad-nauseum when we were children remain plastered in our heads for the rest of our lives.

Of course, then it was rather infuriating to hear them nag all day, as though we had nothing between our two ears. we strutted around smugly with a know-it-all look.I can never forget my mother saying: “Whatever you do, do it well or don’t do it at all.” I was singled out for this piece of wisdom because of my flair for starting new things with great enthusiasm, only to lose interest within seconds. It was so convenient to pretend that what I started had never existed. My parents, on the other hand, made it a point to see that I finished what I started. I would fret, fume, stomp, but to no avail. Although it is years since I got this sermon, it continues to haunt me. I hear “whatever you do, do it well” whenever I start a chore. And I see to it that I finish it even if it kills me. At times it is annoying, especially when one is battling time. A simple thing like clearing a room after your friends have made a mess of it can be an ordeal because tidying doesn’t mean putting everything in cupboards butkeeping everything in order.

No work was ever considered menial, we were always made to feel proud of whatever we did, provided we put our hearts into it. I remember my mother tried to lure me into doing household chores by asking me to sometimes lay the table. Putting plates, spoons and forks was the ultimate for me. My father would always rave about the beautiful table, but with a footnote,“If you had put a few wild daises, the colour would add to the table, dear.” So I knew that the next time round I needed to put flowers.Failure was something which I found difficult to digest. The year my grades fell, I felt like a small worm and wanted to recoil into a shell, away from everybody’s eyes. My father, who at one time aspired to be an Olympic champion, but didn’t for whatever reasons, pulled me to his lap and said:“Real winners in school as in sports and business are those whose failures inspire them to go at it again.” The problem was to try again. He taught me how to go about it. “By setting low targets, we often live up to ourexpectations.” I set a high target that year and I surprised myself by living up to it. Today, I am so grateful my parents said what they did and I grew up this way. I know they are proud of me just as I am of them.