Saturdays in the late 2000s were welcomed with a great zeal of enthusiasm by the young within the vicinity. For the mere fact that there would be no school, pupils my age had some special kind of joy when going back home on Fridays after school. It was not as though the fast approaching Saturday was filled with much cozy moments only. At such an immature age, my twin brother (Jamal) and I saw other activities less stressful than going to school. How ignorant and silly we were. The real deal is met when this Saturday finally arrives.
On one side of the coin, Saturdays were days we mostly got involved in domestic activities. Fetching serveral rounds of water from the well with a head pan, looking after the freshly milled corn flour to get dried up in the sun, running on errands as well as washing of all kinds were a few of the acts we despised on this day. I use to question why a straight-thinking person would thoughtlessly don a white shirt when they know washing it would be hell. I use to question why we – the children, were hastely sent to make purchases in preparation of dishes but not the grown-ups.
Never did I want to understand the notion behind washing trivial stuff like handkerchiefs and socks when new ones could easily be bought to replace dirty ones.
My somewhat skewed ideology never saw daylight as it never thwarted the existing practice even in the slightest of ways. I, therefore, had to bite the bullet throughout those moments.
On the brighter side, this was the day we were, for once, spared of rigorous scrutiny for going strolling without permission. It was a day one could go on a rail hunting expedition to the marshes of “Kasambola” without strict questioning. This particular day was an avenue one could have a swimming trial at far away “Weweso”. It was on this same day that the weekly football ‘gala’ competitions – where the best young footballing teams gathered to compete each other, came off. Funny enough, the price money for these ‘gala’ competitions constituted the ‘chop money’ of all participants of the soccer game. Dangerous enough, this was always “a winner takes all situation”.
I tend to always ask my self, would all these have been possible if not for Saturdays? Your guess is as good as mine.
Evidently, Saturdays were bitter-sweet days for us as children in our early teens but definitely, lessons were learned throughout those moments of exploration and naivety. In those moments, acts that were targeted at us to breed positive results – by shaping our moral and social capacities, were rather seen by us as tormentous. Conversely, those that were dangerous and of course embarked by ourselves seemed gainful.
It has now become a blessing in disguise as our involvements in household activities, as young lads, has really played an unmatched role in our survival to date. Being beneficial enough, there is virtually no household activity Jamal and I cannot perform . This has helped a great deal and has now become a part and parcel of our routine.
Friend, whenever you get an opportunity to learn, make the best out of it, as it might be what will set you apart from others. Some might think they are being smart by running away from tasks but little do they know of the good they are turning their backs to.
As the Chinese Proverb presents, “Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere”. Shun laziness and welcome the spirit of wanting to explore. This is one of the sure ways man discovers a lot more.
Peace 🕊️
Listen to audio podcast here.