The Family Ritual

I didn't grow up with my parents. I was raised by my Grandma from an early age. She was a tough woman in her youthful age whose yes was yes and no was no. One thing she never tolerated was waking up late in the morning even though you have nothing to do, but that part of waking early was something I didn't learn, maybe it was a habit from someone I didn't know.

She raised me and two other of my siblings, we were all boys, so we were all raised like girls. We do the morning chores and also do whatever a girl and boy child would do around the house. No morning devotion, everyone prayed separately. Everyone had their plate of food, once you finished your meal, there was no more for you. My grandma was also a very religious person who never played with church activities. All these weren't things that became part of me. The one I copied from her was her love for unexpected visitors when it came to the quantity of food we cooked.

Image generated using Gemini AI

She often adds extra measures of whatever we were cooking, "someone may visit unexpectedly" she often says. Sometimes it happens just as she said, other times it doesn't, and we end up forcing ourselves to eat the remaining food but she never stopped this habit. Everyone of us adopted this habit. I find myself adding an extra measure each time I cook, even when I'm not expecting anyone. That was a culture that never left me and maybe the religious part a little, but I am not as dedicated as she was.

I believe children learn from what their parents do. Sometimes they may not adhere to everything they learn but definitely there's one they stick with. Even the Bible asks that parents train their children in the way they should go and when they're old, they won't depart from it. Childhood Programming is very important in the upbringing of children and when it's done properly, the children often have a story to tell about what they learned while growing up.