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By Ope Olurankinse
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
everydaymatters@nigeriahorizon.com
September 4, 2008
Parents are under an appalling burden. It’s the burden of eventually being looked up to by their children as the supplier of answers to all of world’s questions.
Parents are expected to know all these things or risk the children realizing that their parents are not as smart as they pretend to be.
I’m not a parent yet. However, I’m preparing for the barrage of questions that I know will eventually be coming my way, once I fall in love and begin to experience motherhood.
In other words, I’ve been doing my homework. I’ve been figuring the answers to some of the easy ones, like why is the sky blue and why do we pray. Actually, those questions are simple compared to the tough ones I may never be able to answer.
For example, when you call a bank or utility, why do they make you key in all kinds of account numbers before you talk to a real operator? When they come on the line the first thing the operator asks you for is your account number again.
Why does gas prices go up and down several times a day, and only hit the peal when my father’s car is empty?
Why is it old men who always have the loudest opinions about young women’s issues?
Why can’t people stay out of other people’s business?
Why can’t people figure out the difference between ‘fewer’ and ‘lesser’? Less is for a quantity and fewer refers to the number of things.
Why is it that you can go to jail for lying for a long time, but child molesters get off with light sentences?
I still have some time to figure it all before my child realizes that I do not have all the answers. Hopefully, she’ll stick to easy questions like why she may have to attend Harvard and marry her smart, biracial boyfriend trying to make a difference in the world.
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Other articles by Ope Olurankinse
True Person Unleashed
Afrocentric School Brings Integration, Unease
When Not To Get Married
The Way People Think
The Act of Forgiveness
Triumphing over distraction
Making a Positive Impression
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