“Many daughters have done well, but you excel them all.” Proverbs 31:29 NKJV
In my first year in secondary school (JS1), I had two friends – Ayo and Edidiong. We became friends because they coveted something of mine that I continuously refused to give them.
They wanted my mum’s food.
They were amused at how the bread was cut and the smell of fried plantain and egg I always brought.
I was privileged to take home-cooked food to school. They were privileged to be given pocket money. But I also wanted pocket money and they wanted home-cooked food.
That’s when I had a light bulb moment.
I thought to myself, “I can sell part of my food so I can take part of their money.” This was my first business idea, but I needed huge capital.
So, the next day was bread and egg day. Early in the morning, as my mum elegantly cut the bread into four quarters following her signature intercontinental bread-cutting style, I stood beside her and praised her, telling her how much I loved the food and why she should add two extra slices. In her mind, she was happy. She didn’t know I was raising business capital and had to caress her ego.
I was just 10 years old then. “Fear” children :D.
That day, I sold each quarter of a slice of bread with egg for NGN5 to my friends. I made NGN20 off each slice. On other days, one slice of fried plantain with egg was NGN10. I was making money and bought all the junk food I wanted.
As I look back, I realise that my mum knew about every new “venture” I started, and she never stopped me.
She was the first to discover that I walked from school and used the transport fare I had saved to buy books, with snacks in the mix.
When she discovered NGN4,000 in my clothes drawer, hidden in a pack of underwear, and asked what a 12-year-old boy like me was doing with that kind of money, I had to confess that I was the Treasurer of an envelope retail business that I started with three friends in class. Edidiong was CEO.
One time while preparing for exams in my third year (JS3), she caught me making a lot of noise in the bathroom. She walked in on me only to discover that I was squeezing the juice from the leaves of different trees in our backyard for a new body lotion that I wanted to sell to the girls in my class. They had just reached puberty and I wanted to help them smell nicer. Mum gave me a bigger container to use and was the first customer of a cream that was not clinically evaluated in any way. I later sold one scoop for NGN5.
Each time, she didn’t shut me down.
I scored As in English Language because mum realised that my siblings and I had inherited the writing talent from our dad and helped us nurture it with thick Agatha Christie novels and help with homework.
There is a difference between good and excellent. Sometimes when we say, “I tried my best”, if you look deeper, you’ll realise that there was still an extra mile you could have taken. That’s how you raise the bar. Good enough was what the Prophets of old did. They tried their best but would not have been able to pull off what Jesus Christ did by being the ultimate sacrifice. That was excellent work!
As we celebrate Christmas, I also celebrate my mum’s birthday today. I can write this because I have seen the positive effect of her nurturing hands upon me.
Merry Christmas and Happy birthday mum. You excel them all.
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