“Son please jump, I swear I will catch you” The father
pleaded with the son for the umpteenth time, the fire was now fiercely raging,
only the balcony where the son stood had not been completely engulfed. The fire
had broken out in the wee hours of the night, the son was not in his room when
it occurred, as it turned out, he went playing his favorite game up in the
ceiling so as not to be found, unknown to his parents that he was up there,
they hurriedly rushed downstairs thinking he was too scared of the inferno and
so had come down.
“Dad, I am too scared, I can’t jump, just come for me” The
kid, who came out of his hiding place when the fire was already too advanced
and therefore unable to join his parents downstairs pleaded with the Dad.
“OK son, he replied, hang in there I will come for you”, the
father rushed inside the house that was now falling into pieces, he endured the
burns and reached the son just in time to rescue him. “There, go now….go take
care of your mummy” he lovingly told the son as he dropped him down, he was not
so lucky himself- he succumbed to the burns just after the selfless gesture.
“Daddy please come back” the son would plead later on realizing
that the father was motionless and in flames. “I swear I will come back and
jump this time round, just come back” but the father was no more, he risked his
life to save his sons’……he died a hero.
In line with today’s holiday theme, I want to remember the
heroes of our time, the living heroes, the co-creators with God- the PARENTS.
I love sitting at a particular spot whenever I go to church,
it’s strategic because it’s not only the last row after the choirs’ seats but
it gives a perfect view of the alter and a full view of the Eucharist during
consecration, I love the view, I love the feeling that comes with it but there
is a man, of all the times I have been sitting there, he is always a round,
just a seat in front of me with these two lovely kids about 5 and 3; a son and
a daughter, seeing them together gives you this warm feeling, their bond is
great, enviable, uplifting and above all inspiring. The kids never want to go
and sit with their mum- I don’t know why- but they always insist to sit with
their dad. From their interaction you can see that he means the world to his
kids- THE WORLD. The way they touch him, the way they fight for his attention,
to be carried by him, the way he looks at them ohh, makes you wanna be a parent-
this man is a hero in the eyes of his kids and in my eyes too- real hero.
Once my sister called me to go and watch over her kids, the
hubby and herself were to travel upcountry, one of the kids was 3 years old
sweet lil gal, I never knew that kids had a sense of time until then. I think
she kinda mastered when her parents would come home, when it hit 6 pm, she went
and sat by the window, you could see the longing in her eyes, her deep longing
to see her parents, she was expecting them back any minute and she wouldn’t let
me carry her, she painfully kept suckling her lil middle and index fingers with
her eyes and ears completely tuned to the gate, those were her only consolation
until she fell asleep. But a disturbing thought occurred to me that day, what
if they never came back, would I be able to withstand her pain? In this lil
gals’ eyes, her heroes were out there somewhere, she knew that, she felt that-
her parents were her heroes.
Martina McBride captures this heavenly feeling when she
sings in her “In my daughter’s eyes”:
In my daughters’ eyes,
I am a hero,
I am strong and wise,
And I know no fear……..
And I know no fear……..
…she continues…
And when she wraps her hand
Around my finger,
How it puts a smile in my heart,
Everything becomes a little clearer,
I realize what life is all about,
It’s hanging on when your heart has
Had enough,
It’s giving more when you feel like
Giving up,
I’ve seen the light,
It’s in my daughter’s eyes…….
I am inclined to believe that there is this -for lack of
better word -I will call it transfiguration when one becomes a
parent, I say this because of the changes I have seen with my pals who have
crossed this line, those who are very blessed to be given this respectable
title- Parent. There is something immeasurable, unquantifiable, unfathomable
feeling that comes with being a parent, I think it’s something to do with the
knowledge that someone fully depends on you, that your being impacts fully on
someone else’s’ existence and the fact that someone believes, trusts and loves
you unreservedly- I don’t know but I think so. And so in some of my chit chats
with my pals, whenever someone says I think I am ready to be a parent, I give
them a casual but loaded reply that go for it if you are ready to be blown away
by the tremendous parenthood feeling
because I tend to equally think that if you are not ready to handle the
feeling, then you might find it to be too much, and therefore if you are ready
to be a hero- knowing full well the repercussions, consequences,
responsibilities and expectations of becoming a hero, then my dearest, all the
best!
There is this image that caught my attention sometime back
during the Tana clashes, it was an image of a lil gal wiping her mamma’s tears,
ohh what a feeling it brought- those lil fingers, there is a way they reassure completely
and I think that’s why this Vaseline advert with a lil gal being told a story
by her mamma, the way she touches her mamma’s nose, the way she moves her lil
fingers across, hmmm…..that advert will always be the best in my world.
So to all the parents outside there, you are the real heroes
of our times.
Happy MASHUJAS’ DAY.
May God greatly guide you in this tremendous and respectable journey
