After reading @George_Dee work where he shared some touching growing up moments with his parents, find link here , I decided do my version as a continuum of what some us went through while growing up.
Growing up in the '80s was quite a different ball game. At a school-going age, your age may not necessarily be considered to resume school. What was done them is to put your hand across your head to touch your ears on the other side. Admission into school is considered with this measurement. If your hand touches your ear, then you will be qualified to resume, else you are sent back home.
It was quite fun to grow up back in the days. Some the memorable moments I shared with my may be funny, but those moments a quite close to my heart.
First of, the none availability of rice as a regular food as it were in recent times. We get to ear rice only during special occasions like Christmas, Easter and on some special Sundays. Funny enough, before the rice get prepared, our spoons are already clanging on any metal around the house are we observe a curfew just to eat rice. Fortunately, rice is now a kind of food that you can eat anywhere, anytime.
Football was prohibited for all the boys then. You know, these days, parents buy kits for their wards to go to football pitch to train as footballers, in our days, footballers are seen as not do well. The only time we get to play football is when dad isn't at home. We play to our full. But as soon as we see him afar off returning home, every one of us takes to their heels and wash our legs and dry it before he enters the house, pretending to be attending our homework.
Farming is one aspect of the memorable I won't forget in a hurry. We had such a large expanse of farmland where we grow cassava, maize, melon, and potatoes. It was an easy task to own and maintaining such a large farm space. On weekdays, after school, we had to go weed the farm so that crops could come out strong and yield better. The farm thing is one of the most memorable moments I shared with my parents. During the land preparation period, we had to employ labor to cut down the bushy land, leave it to dry then after some weeks, set it ablaze. When the dried bushes are set on fire, we lay ambush to hunt bush rats, grass-cutters and to pick snails when the bush is completely burnt.
After the planting season which is usually preceded by series of rainfall, we plant the maize first, when the maize has sprouted, the cassava stem is laid then followed by the melon.
As soon as the maize begin to bear fruits, weaver birds would be seen visiting our farm to feed on the corn. Those birds are very expensive as guys from the Island of Lagos will come to buy them directly from the farm and resell to white tourist at Bar Beach. So, during that period, we made a lot of money from bird hunting. I am still good at setting bird traps though.
I made a lot of money from setting snares for birds. The melon aspect is not quite interesting but it was a huge lesson for a lifetime. We had enough melon and cassava flakes to serve us through the year to another planting season.
One thing about those times was that we had enough food to eat. But eggs and rice were scarce.
My mom was such a lovely mother. She washed our clothes till all the while. She used to say our hands are not strong enough to wash our clothes clean. So, she takes time to wash and ironed our clothes. She was practically good at that being a clothe designer.
Father was a good cook. He tutored me well on cooking different meals. He wanted be to be able to take my future wife by surprise in the kitchen. You know what, I did. My wife never knew I could cook real good until when she went for an interview and was going to be arriving home late, before she came, I made a finger licking fish stew with vegetables and semolina to go with. As a guy, you may need to learn some of these skills to be a complete man. I am glad I had the opportunity to learn all these and apply these experiences as a man as I grew older and confronted with real life issues.
Well, in my school days, football was the daily leisure activity of my makes and me. Cooking is fun. Being a man doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to cook good food. There was a time I couldn't cook most dishes. I had to learn to reduce my reliance on restaurants.