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Fadzayi Maposah Correspondent
It was back to school this week. School days have a lot of memories for the parents, guardians and the children and dependants too.
Some of the memories may not be pleasant though.
The reason why some parents or guardians are late for work during the first few days after schools have opened could be that they are recovering from the stress in the back to school rush.
The saying procrastination is the thief of time rings so true and clearly when it pertains to back to school issues.
One term when I took my youngest daughter back to school I was busy ensuring the uniforms we had received at her school had the appropriate name tags attached.
One of the staff members asked that I should leave and get my daughter to finish off what needed to be done. She added that as long as I continued to do things for my daughter, it would be difficult for her to mature quickly.
You know there are times that you hear something being said and you actually know that it is a valid point, but you will not quickly admit it.
That is what happened on that particular day.
I know that children will not learn to do things for themselves for as long as they know that someone is doing it for them.
At the back of my mind though was: what if I leave the uniforms without the tags and then Chido would not be responsible enough to sew them on before she went off to meet and greet her friends?
Who would need to replace the uniforms? It would be me. No.
Parents and guardians will agree with me, it is much easier and less stressful to replace uniforms when a child has outgrown them than when the uniform would have been stolen or is simply `lost` or is just missing.
On this particular day, I made sure that I had emphasised more than twice how disappointed I would be if the uniforms were without tags such that she would not be able to identify them when they went missing.
When I was young and my mother MaNcube would ask where something was and one of us got up to where it was supposed to be and then came back without the item, but insisting that the item had really been there when we last saw it, she would say: “Yohwe, asi kuti chamera makumbo here?” (loosely translated to ‘my goodness, could that thing have suddenly grown legs so that it simply walked away?`
We would simply stare at her.
So many times now, I hear myself saying something similar to my daughters, nephews and other young children when they claim not to know where things are simply because they do not want to search for them.
I just wonder out aloud: “We will just have to get used to staying in a haunted house!”When the school term began this term, I joined other parents in the back to school rush. I think the holiday moves faster more for the parent than the child.
Chido sticks her list on the refrigerator door. When I walk in and out of the kitchen, I am reminded of what needs to be bought.
As a way of encouraging myself and I guess even Chido too, by the time the list is removed from the fridge it would have many comments, ticks and Xs on it.
Tick means done, comment could be the quantity has been changed in my case, downsizing is the way to go!
X simply means that for now I am not going to entertain the item and comments can vary from dates when I will attend to the item or even have names/phone numbers of who can assist in procuring the item.
By the time we go to school, we will move from being very close buddies who are in agreement with list items to warring individuals who actually need a mediator!
By the time the child is back at school, it is possible that words such as unfair, not being responsible, selfish or upset have been used.
One side can be accused of attempting to stress the other side! Pressure has so many effects on human beings and if not carefully handled can really affect relationships now and in future.
In the case of Chido and myself, we are like on the opposite sides of the reproductive health calendars and the clash of the hormones occurs. The mood disruptions that only occur in women are linked to the hormone oestrogen.
Chido is in her adolescent years and I am getting to menopause now. For me, the hormone levels are declining. Imagine now, the menstrual cycle, pre-menopause and back to school rush.
Is it any wonder why some females look more than tired on the day that they have to take children back to school?
When one gets to school and they are told that they have to pay more than they thought because there is some balance from last term, the hormones appear to go mad!
It is easier to become teary.
The voice may even sound broken as one asks for further information.
Anxiety can set in. What to do next? Who to call for assistance?
In the back to school rush be kind to the females that you meet or there could be a clash of the hormones.
Anything, no matter how small can trigger conflict. Maybe during the rush, they are on the `it` experience or it is slowly becoming irregular as they approach menopause.
Google tells me oestrogen acts everywhere in the body including the parts of the brain that control emotion.
Online Reporter