LESSONS WE LEARNT FROM OUR MOTHERS

We are our mother’s son and daughter. Today, as we join the rest of the world to celebrate the women who have nurtured us to be strong enough to grow through life and teachable enough to learn from experience, we hope you stay inspired and take out time to appreciate yours too as you read about the lessons we learnt from our mothers!

Timothy Ogene and I in the early hours of Thursday morning, sat down to reflect on the current issues- not to lament over the insidious trend of our government leaders. Our focus was on the exemplary leaders who, in a failing system have not relented in nurturing the future.

Our mothers taught us to be receptive. As a child, I was always thrilled by my mum’s ability to run an open-door policy in our home. We didn’t need to live in a mansion to be able to host extended family, friends and even strangers for holidays and all. My mum’s warm and receptive attitude made our home livable. From her I learned the importance of being receptive towards others, irrespective of their background.

Our mothers taught us hard-work. My mum was always working at something. She was a serial small-scale entrepreneur. My dad lost his job when I was about 10years old. She single-handedly supported the family economically. In the process, I learnt how to manage my resources in times of deficit. She was not a waster. While other women spent money on make-up and stuff, she saved hers for her children’s education. Her prudence robbed off on me.

Choose God and a good education. We knew the way to church as well as the way to school. But the real education for us started from home. Our mothers did not compromise on discipline. “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6). My mum was very strict about not sparing the rod to spoil the child. Being a teacher’s daughter, one of the things that was always present in our household was the discipline-cane and the Bible. If you are caught talking "harsh works”, be sure to get a knock or a few strokes of the cane. And, yes we turned better.

Our mothers taught us that sincere love is required to make the hurting heal. They taught us that resilience and passion make challenges easier to tackle. Our mothers represent God-fearing, strong, intelligent women. We learn so many things from them, especially the lesson of taking personal responsibility and being audacious in achieving one's goals. Happy Mother’s day to all fabulous role models and nurturers we call mothers.

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