Cherish your parents

Chiedza Matenga Cool Lifestyle Writer
A mother and father should be the people closest to your heart. Yes, we all know they do have days they tell us of things we do not want to hear but obey them, they know better.A lot of children are not only homeless but are orphans. For them it is better to be with parents and homeless rather than in the situation they are caught up in.

Along Park Street and Samora Machel Avenue and at times Queen Elizabeth High School wanders a street kid named Spencer. He is better known among his peers as “Gede” because he has a limp in his leg.

In 2007, “Gede” was by this corner and now in 2013 he still frequents the same corner. One wonders how many years he has been here and why. The answers lie beneath his heart. Like the Shona proverb which says literally “what knows best about the mice’s children’s illness is the soil”.

Is this the lifestyle that Gede wants to live or was the death of his parents the cause to this? One tends to have a lot of unanswered questions. Guys we should learn to appreciate our parents. Yes, in life not all relationships go well but as we look at it in this manner when our parents dismiss us from the wrong, we learn from our mistakes.

It takes a lot to swallow your pride and realise that they are not out to get you but to build you.  What we say to them and how we say it proves a lot about what we think our parents should be to us. If we talk to them like our “pals” it proves we do not respect them as much.

However, when they speak to us they want you to open up about some matters. Let us be open about such things especially when it comes to issues about pertaining to sex. Guys this is not a light topic, I do know but at the moment it has claimed a lot of lives.

One thing I know that kills parent-child relationships is under-age dating. Because we want to keep these as secrets, we lie and hide a lot of stuff from them. Lies grow into bigger lies that need to be fed more lies. Parents react towards things like sex and relationships. This makes teens less open and more secretive.

However, we should not hide things or bottle up things because it will explode when they come out. Nothing stays hidden forever.
No one lives forever and all parents want the best for their children. This means that one day when they leave this earth, we won’t have to depend on other people. Some of our parents are orphans and they know how it feels being left alone.

They want us to be self-dependent.  For all those in single-parented homes, give these hard-working parents their props guys. It is not easy raising children alone. Every child needs affection from both parents and support too. For the girls, the father’s love is what they need.

Affirmation from daddy on how precious, special you are and how much you are loved means a lot. No other guy can tell you how much you mean to them. A father has already done that meaning parents play an important role in our lives.

As for you young men, mothers become your mentor for your future wives in good time. Yes, in good time. So start interacting with your mothers and sisters well. How you treat your mother and sisters is how you would deal with your future wife. This role is taught by your mother as a young boy. Both parents do play an important role in both the lives of boys and girl.

Sacrifices that our parents make should be applauded. For all those who do not, parents do a lot to see your better future. For our sakes some parents work underground despite the danger faced, others spent days at the market while some work in other people’s homes.

When they do get paid, they not only pay your fees but make sure we have all we need and not putting themselves first. It’s called THE LOVE OF A PARENT.