You can’t make a cow fat a day before slaughter

Have you noticed how every new day transforms some of us into unfeeling and selfish creatures? During festive seasons, it was our tradition (Africans) to go back home to our parents and share the big holidays and get to meet other family members from across the land. Today many people, especially the young prefer hanging out with their buddies and booze till they can’t booze anymore.Those who still have some human blood in them are too busy to even compose a decent SMS to their folks back home so they resort to forwarding one of those recycled messages wishing them a merry Christmas.Just when the season has deepened the void inside the hearts of orphans, those that are still lucky enough to have parents treat them like trash. Thus the saying “we don’t know what we’ve got until it’s gone”. This saying is true in every sense of the word. Many people you see cruising expensive cars in this town have their parents living stone-age lives back in the village without so much as a warm blanket to cover their old bones! The only time these folks get to see their children is when they are getting married. They then panic, wondering where they will have the introduction ceremony as their parents home is no more stylish than a beggar on crack! This is when they rush back to the wobbly house (read parent’s shelter) and try to give it a facelift. It’s then that they also remember they were reminded countless times about building a new pit latrine…as the old one doesn’t look safe at all. By this time, the work that needs to be done will be huge! You can’t make a cow fat just a day before slaughter, no matter how many buckets of fat you pour into it. Your visitors will notice how your people have been living, with the traces of extreme poverty still visible! As for your parents, though they might not tell you, deep inside they know you are selfish and whatever you do, you are doing it for yourself not for them. Even if you built a storied house, the damage is done.To all of you who are blessed to have people who truly care about you , don’t abuse their care,take it for granted or wait for tomorrow to reciprocate it . Now is the time to show your appreciation all through the year. As for the parents with children in town, don’t be quick to jump to conclusions that they abandoned you. Sometimes things in town are not always rosy.