A tough act to follow

One thing about adulthood I was not prepared for was understanding my parents. I read this book Small Worlds, a couple of years ago: it’s a mostly coming of age story (and so poetically written, that you must read it before you die), that also explores the main character’s relationships with his parents. It documents the moment in adulthood where he sees them as human beings, with goals, and fears, and disappointments, and passions— human beings who had lives before they were parents.

I saw this quote that I’ll paraphrase; if given the tools your parents were, would you have accomplished what they did? And I absolutely wouldn’t have. Which has been a very sobering thought.

So, let me tell you two stories:

1. I used to be much more athletic when I was younger(ha), and my favourite race to do was the 400m. And each time, for the last 100m, my mum would be running along side me— cheering me on on top of her voice. She did this for my brother too; and his athleticism outlived mine.

2. I come from a football family(once, my mum had to ban my brothers and I from playing for a few weeks because we were finishing the grass in her compound.) —it was our whole personality, several people from the family already having decided it was their career of choice.

So, for my 16th, my mum got me an original Chelsea FC jersey, straight from Stamford Bridge btw, and had my name embroidered at the back. I was in boarding school at the time, so she had to act, and bribe, and jump through holes to get my cake and personalised jersey to me.

There’s 10,000 more stories like this.

Now, what my mum thinks of parenting me; One time I had to walk out of the house with my mum— I was on my way to a Halloween party, which I was dressed up for as Pennywise(makeup and everything). When I walked up to her at the backdoor where she was waiting for me, she looked up, ‘Ramona, God gave me a special grace to raise you!’ (Ha!)