I went to a borehole to fetch water.
As a kid, I grew up in an area where we had to buy water so, I have been in the business of fetching water since I was big enough to balance a bucket on my head. That should be when I was around 7-8 years of age or even less till I was a teenager of about 14-15 years.
In this country, it is extremely normal! Lol!
It was fun!
We'll chat while fetching water, laugh out loud, play
and do whatever we wanted to do. It was cool! Except the part that when you hear your mother's voice in your early morning sleep asking you to go fetch water, you cannot decide to either brush your teeth or change your clothes because if you try that, you would explain if you bought the clothes with your money or; your clean teeth will determine the quality of water you are about to go fetch..... Haha!
There were times when my parents took part in this activity too.
Lmao!
So, I pulled my sister up very early one morning (few days back) and, I employed her photography skills just because I wanted to do something I used to do.
For a long time, I didn't understand why my mother couldn't just sit down without doing any physical activity.
It took a while for me to realize that she was always either deep in thoughts or just wanting to do something she used to do.
It doesn't matter what but, once someone else takes over that activity from her, she'll get something else to do.
I have been called a lot of names like: fragile, soft, born with a silver spoon and so on!
People don't believe me when I tell them I was not born into a wealthy family.
I remember the day I made that statement while I was in the university, a course mate said "yea right, we believe you. "You live in that area, you attend this school, you have all you want"
I couldn't bring myself to explain that I was brought up with certain ideas like: "godliness and contentment is great gain" "Never forget where you come from" and so on. It doesn't matter where I am, there is always something to be thankful for and, I always concentrate on that.
I remember being with a group of people some years back and someone said "oh! That family is so wealthy (not mine), I wish I were a part of that family" then I said "don't say that, you have no idea what they have been through or what they have had to do to get there, just be grateful for what you have".
People think it is always easy for me to say that because I had everything.
Truth be told; I have never had "everything" I wanted. My parents had to strive to ensure that their children had their basic needs. When they can't give a particular thing, they'll say "you don't need it! You can survive without it, life is all that matters" and stuff like that.
There were times in secondary school when my siblings and I had no provisions for school but, we had the basics; Garri and a packet of St.Louis sugar. Lol!
I remember talking about it with my sisters recently and, we were all really thankful for the parents we have and how they brought us up because; we didn't adopt bad habits in the name of: the challenges we faced.
There were good times and bad times.
We watched our parents move from 'good income" to "no income" to "okay income" and so on.
Honestly, no matter how "in need" we were, we never let it show.
We never carried stoned faces or let the whole world know what was going on.
I think I still have that attitude till date. It takes someone who truly knows me to know when I mean "I am ok" or when I am just saying it without actually meaning it.
My siblings and I always say "we"ll choose the same parents again and again" for bringing us up the way they did with good discipline.
Can't forget the beatings and the punishments, it got us well shaped!
I also remember back then while still in Primary School, the distance to school was almost a forty minutes walk so, we would leave the house by 7:00 am and get to school some few minutes before assembly which was usually by 7:45 am.
My younger sisters and I tagged along with a classmate in his father's vehicle for a ride to school sometimes. We would wake up earlier and get to their house at a good time (7:00 am) and wait till they are ready to leave.
On this particular day, we waited extra longer and when they were all set, the driver told us to get out of the vehicle and he drove off leaving us behind.
I remember the look on my little sister's face, I remember not knowing what to say or do, I remember telling my sisters "sorry" we have to walk to school today. It was disturbing, we got to school very late and we got punished for it.
My mother heard at the end of the day and she said "Oh my babies, sorry you had to experience that, don'y worry. It will only get better.
Then, my dad usually, is out of the house by 6:30 am. Since that day, my mother got us ready for school before 6:30 am so that our dad could drop us off at school.
We got so used to it that when we moved to a different area which was farther away from our school at the time (a different school), we will get up at 4:00 am and leave the house by 5:30 am to escape the traffic. Interestingly, after school hours, we would have to wait on our dad to pick us up and that is never before 6:00 pm. The traffic at that time cannot be escaped so, we will get home anytime from 9:00 pm. Repeat the same circle until the week runs out.
I remember the early morning struggles and the "socks" moments..... It was like a tradition.
LOL!
Bottom-line, Don't Judge!
Don't stand in your shoes and judge someone else without having any idea what it feels like to walk in that person's shoes!
Everyone has a unique story to tell.
It doesn't matter what you see from where you stand, it is a different view from someone else's standpoint.
Till I put up another post, laugh at the pictures and quit judging!
With love
Rita_R
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