About two years ago I threatened to write regular blogs alas to no avail .Did I hear someone murmur what a relief .Anyway much has happened .I suffered the irretrievable loss of both my parents. It is incredible how one’s interior landscape changes…in fact everything around you seems so different .I have concluded that the whole of humanity cannot take their place. We all have regrets .How I wish for example , I had visited my dad one day before his demise.

Many of their utterances are now pearls of wisdom which we share painfully because when these were first uttered we were in our own worlds. I just want to share two incidents. When I was the headteacher of one the schools my mother telephoned me and I whispered in the vernacular that I could not speak to her as one of the inspectors of schools was with me in the office .Her retort, Inspector or no inspector mummy is always number one .At that time I did not appreciate the import of those words. Sadly as my mum is no more the words are painfully true and need I say poignant now.

Many years ago when I was still in high-school my friends came home to fetch me for the cinema which was diagonally opposite our home. On a Friday night, going to the cinema was a ritual for many. My father shocked me when he said that I cannot go to the cinema. Naturally, I felt humiliated …especially since my friends used to wax lyrical about my father. Need I say, it was an emphatic no! There was no room for further discussion on the topic. Then my father sat me down. I can remember his words vividly. I am your father…you are not to make arrangements with your friends until you have sought my consent. Secondly ,let me tell you what your grandfather told me …I am like a globe and it can go off at any time and when it does go off I want you be around .My father was the first one to know of my grandfather’s demise. Similarly .I was the first of my siblings to know of my father’s death.

Our parents deserve our honour and respect for giving us life itself. Beyond this they almost always made countless sacrifices as they cared for and nurtured us through our infancy and childhood, provided us with the necessities of life, and nursed us through physical illnesses and the emotional stresses of growing up.

My advice to you.

• Hug your parents everyday…if you are not in close proximity to them then send them messages of love and appreciation.
• Treat them with reverence.
• Respond with alacrity and enthusiasm when they call upon you.
• Pray for them always