Month: November 2020

I watched as the sporadic rhythm of raindrop beats against the window. It looked dreary outside; I needed no one to tell me that autumn was just around the corner. The sunshine of the summertime was gradually being replaced by the grey sky of the autumn period.

I reflected for a while about another year coming to an end and the ushering of a new one. The year coming to an end somehow had me engulfed with dread for a few minutes because time really flies. I remembered as the year was coming to an end, I was reviewing my goals and coming up with a new action plan for my dreams. I could not believe that it has been almost twelve months since I was redefining my goals and coming up with better action plans for the present year.

My Goals and Action Plans were:

• Daily Bible Study
• Read between Forty to Fifty-five books in twelve months
• Fifty push ups in a day?
• Continuous research for song writing
• Complete song writing course
• Start my Personal Blog
• Advance Keyboard Training
• Drink 1 litre of water in a day
• Cycling
• Walking

A reliable source said that scientist claimed the earth had slowed down in its rotation axis. Twenty-four hours no longer make a day, but twenty-five, an extra hour a day. Despite this extra hour I still complain daily of not having enough time. I began to wonder if I have put this extra one hour a day to good use.

I did a recap of my Goals and action plans:

• I need to spend more time on Bible studies
• I was currently reading Book Number Forty-Three; my target was to read between forty-five to fifty books in a year.
• My push ups in a day are between twenty and thirty-five.
• I was on Module two with my song Writing Course.
• I was behind in the advanced keyboard training.
• I cycle regularly, which has helped to save money on public transport and keep fit.
• I walk a lot.

I agree with Steve Covey the author of seven habits of highly effective people who said that time management does not exist but self-management. As stated earlier, I now get an extra one hour every day. Self-management is now helping to put this extra one hour to good use.

 

 

 

 

I could not wait to be an adult so that I could take care of my Mum. She disapproved my idea of working during the holidays. She even got me enrolled in extra-curricular activities because she strongly believed that school education was vital. To my amazement, most of my friends with both parents could work during the holidays rather than enrol them for extra-curricular activities.

Apart from making sure that I was not behind in my School Education, she also strived to make sure I lack nothing in other areas. I always had the right clothes and other good stuff, this earned me a good position as of one of the popular kids at school. Friends with both parents did not have as much as I did and were envious.  My school fees were paid before due dates, compared to some of my classmates with both parents whose fees were never paid on time.

Some of my friends could not believe that I received no support whatsoever from my Dad. They believe that my Dad would have been making regular deposits into my Mum’s account without my knowledge, I wished this were the case. If my Dad had been doing this my Mum would have told me. She had my head buried among books, thinking about her sacrifices I had to make sure that I did not disappoint her by getting good grades to prove it. Dealing with figures has never been my strongest point.

I hated mathematics most especially with the formulas attached, but thinking about how Mum went the extra miles to give me the best, I also put in extra efforts in getting good grades, especially in mathematics. And even when I was behind regarding my academic promises, all she ever did was to encourage me. A friend of mine whose result was not impressive got a tongue lashing from his mum. A single parent like my mother, she portrayed how useless his father was using cutting remarks and derogatory terms. My friend gave up schooling and ended up on the street.

As a grown up I will always admire the way my mum handled this issue compared to my friend’s mum. She never said anything negative about my Dad. Whenever he pops up during conversations, she never said anything positive or negative about him.

Were you raised by a single parent, how was life growing up?

Are you a single Parent, how are you coping?

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