I grew up to see my mum eat, whine and dine in a gathering of friends at least twice a week, all expenses were on my mum. The dinning made no difference between both genders, and never forced any of them to support her in preparing the delicacies of the moment. This went on for months, until one day, something happened. The situation almost claimed my mum's life, and NONE of the so-called friends showed up.

The tough times are over now, and one after the other, the friends are showing up again, expecting the same treatment that they were used to. Well, it did happen, but not what they expected. My mum stopped preparing the meals, and the little gathering in its entirety. When they come, my mum would greet them, and wouldn't say a thing after. Gradually, they got the message and we never saw them again. "When the relationship is becoming parasitic, leave. When you sense that you're being used, don't wait. When you realize that you're only beneficial to them when they can get something from you, restrict their access to you entirely". These were the words of my mum when I asked her one day why she didn't withhold the relationship with her friends anymore.

My dad and mum separated as far back as I was eleven years old, but one thing struck me about both of them. My mum owns a mini-restaurant not far from my dad's house, then something happened. A man who had been stealing people's catfish from their ponds and selling to food vendors lied that my mum was his vendor when in reality, his vendors were my mum's competitors.

Police came and were about to arrest my mum when my dad showed up with some men. Growing up, I've seen my dad worked like a detective. How he gets to find out about things perfectly hidden, I don't know, but he used that skill to save my mum from being arrested that night. The men he brought with him knew the thief very well, and they knew those he sold the fish to and guess what? My mum was never a part of his vendors. It was just a plot against my mum.

"I thought you didn't like each other anymore?", I asked my dad. "Why did you then do that?" "That we fall out of love doesn't mean that we wish each other bad. We shared many years of love, fire, beautiful times, and for the sake of those times alone, we should watch out for each other, and not wish each other bad. And times like this when one of us is desperately in need, we stand up for them, and then return to our normal lives when everything is set. You can simply love from afar.

I overheard a conversation between my dad and some visitors he had a very long time ago. It was a conversation that would've made my dad an overnight millionaire. The offer was so juicy, that I thought my dad would jump at it so our lives could be better. We are not poor, but we aren't rich either. With the offer that was brought to my dad, we would be wealthy, and live large, however, I heard my dad say NO (capital letters because it was emphatetic).

The offer, even though would've benefited his family the most, he rejected it because "his name is more important than any riches to him". In his words, "even though I'm not rich, I have my integrity in place. My good name will open doors for my children, and that's better than putting a lot of lives at risk while I live large on people's tears. I don't have anything but my name, and I intend to protect it till the end of my days".

My parents have helped me grow into a beautiful woman with a very good personality. I learnt resilience, kindness, discipline, and more from them, not just by saying, but by doing, and that's why they are the precious people in my life that I admire so much and willing to do anything for.

All images are generated on MetaAi.

This is my entry to #Inleo prompt for June with the topic, "people I admire".

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