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Fadzayi Maposah-Correspondent
Holidays mean different things for different people.
The month of April has been with its fair share of public holidays which saw some people travelling to be with friends and relatives.
Others opted to use the time to make up for lost work that had to be done. In the differences that people had to deal with, the emotions were varied too.
The month of April is also school holiday. The school holiday comes with its own issues.
There are children who will have been away at boarding school, when they get home there are changes that have taken place and there is need to adjust.
It could be that family members who used to be part of the picture are no longer there due to different reasons. Others return home to an additional member of the family.
I remember as a young girl getting home and having to adjust to having a little sister in the house. I had to adjust.
While others had adjusted while I was at school, I had the holiday to adjust. These were the days of the white towelling napkins.
The young people born these days do not understand what each day was like with these towelling napkins. It was a lot of work.
But with the blue sky dotted with a few fluffy clouds and the very white towelling napkins dancing on the laundry line, it was a sight that gave much satisfaction that work had been done!
I made my youngest daughter Chido laugh when she came home for the holiday. I told her that I have become so used to staying by myself that she needs to forgive and remind me when I appear to be ignoring her!
So during holiday time, I adjusted to having company and it is actually very good. Then when schools open I had to adjust again. Life is just about adjusting.
During the school holiday the young people get to see one another and catch up on how the term was. One of the places that benefit from young people being on school holiday are the food courts.
Young people and food are the best of friends, throw in noise and it is all like a house on fire.
During the school term, a few dollars are saved for the outing with friends.
When as a parent one is informed that they intend to meet up with their friends, it is not expected that you smile and wish them a good time.
You are supposed to support the outing financially, material support is why you are being informed! The young people are always cunning, they can say they only have money for ice cream could you not support them with money for drinks or a few eats so that they can also contribute.
Occasionally, I visit food courts just to see for myself what is taking place. Yes, I will buy something while I am at the food court.
As one gets older one realises the importance of spoiling themselves, not always in healthy ways but then I guess that is why it is called spoiling!
Seeing the young people and even the adults enjoying each other’s company is wonderful. I always tell parents and caregivers when I have parent child communication (PCC) sessions with them that it is good to take their children out.
It does not have to be a financial drain on the family resources. It can be just for ice cream.
The idea is that a young person must not walk into a food court for the first time with a person who is taking them on a date as a way of woowing them into a relationship.
When one is approached for a relationship and invited out on a date to a food court just to eat a few chips, a piece of chicken, pizza or a burger one must not think that they have had Earth moved up to the moon.
The young person must confidently be able to say, “Nothing new and amazing, been there, done that with my family!”
I watched four young girls interacting as I waited for my order at a food court. I picked up a few tit bits from their conversation.
They are examination candidates preparing for critical milestones in their lives. They are all in boarding school.
They giggled as they recalled how having juice all the time seemed to affect their families. They had one answer, ‘they were used to being in charge of their supplies in school and knowing that the juice was theirs to be managed as they saw fit’.
Despite their age they said they tended to “forget” that the juice during the holiday was communal property. Then they giggled again.
Then one of the girls said that she had thought of not coming to the date. The other girls were surprised and echoed loudly, ‘Why?’
The girl laughed and accused her friends of being too inquisitive. One of the girls said that being friends from primary school literally made them as sisters, they had to look out for one another.
I smiled behind my mask. I liked that. Girl power and girl support.
The girl who had said that she had thought of not coming beckoned to her friends to bring their heads closer together.
She whispered something and soon she was getting hugs from the friends. I was curious. When my order number came up on screen, as I walked up, the girl who had thought of cancelling the date got up holding onto to a little bag.
“All good girl. We got you covered!” one of the girls called out.
Call me menstruation crazy, but I am sure that girl had “female issues” and those free friends were like my Bubbly Trio from high school supporting one another all the time because hormones never go on holiday!
Online Reporter