Valentine Came Early for me & it’s my Best so Far
My daughter and I agreed to get her registered for an essay contest for young children on the title ‘HOW HAS AFRICA CONTRIBUTED TO MODERN MEDICINE?’ with some guidance from her teacher and I, she completed the essay that was due for submission on Sunday, 31st January. On the same Sunday after mass, she began typing the essay and was done on time for me to proofread before submission then she took off to the salon to get her hair ready for school the next day.
After proofreading, I decided to read the instructions for submission and realised only then that the essay was to be handwritten and not typed. I hear you whispering ‘Terrible Dad that couldn’t even read the instructions for the contest to guide the little girl appropriately’. I started thinking about how I would tell this my Meme that had put in time and soul into this work to recopy the typed work in her handwriting.
To make things easy for myself, I sent someone to explain on my behalf because I was a bit wary of her reaction. Like I guessed she came to me feeling bad but I tried to explain and be a bit persuasive, so she agreed to try.
I was busy playing tennis and waiting for her to signal me but all I could hear from her siblings were ‘Meme is seriously crying’ when I asked her why ‘she simply said, ‘Dad, this is a lot for me to recopy and I am really tired. I don’t think I will be able to do it’ I felt bad and wanted to push but I changed my mind and told her it was okay if she chooses not to rewrite. There will be many more essay contests for her to try out during the year. I sure made her stop crying.
After Tennis, I got into the house and wanted to make sure she was alright and behold I saw my Meme recopying the essay in her handwriting. She had only about 8 lines to go when I walked into the study. All I did was leave speechless. I saw a different side of my daughter that sometimes argued with me concerning many things or felt I was sometimes too pushy. She turned my evening into a reflective one that made me know ‘There will always be new things under this sun’.
By the time she was done, I was too shocked but mustered some courage to ask her why she continued and the answers were in 3 complete sentences
- Daddy I have put in a lot of work into this and I won’t be pleased to see that I didn’t submit it.
- Miss Jennine my teacher helped me a lot. If I let her know I didn’t submit then I would have wasted her time
- I knew it would make you happy if I pushed myself a little more to finish.
She ended her answers by giving me a very hot hug saying ‘Daddy I Love You So Much’.
I didn’t let my daughter see my tears because she knows I seldom let them drip but she brought me an early Valentine and I am proud to have such a sweet girl.
So this is me now telling you to remind anyone you care about how much you love them.
May February be a lovely month for you even as we remind ourselves of how Love can turn our worlds around.
Happy Valentine’s day in Advance. Stay safe as you Celebrate.
Shalom.
