I was very much still in high school when she was preparing for college. It was a beautiful moment because it was the first time someone close to me was going to college. Not just that, she was the eyes of her family.
Her dad had a special liking for her and it was obvious that she was her dad’s favourite. They would play, laugh, gist, and go around together. How then did it happen? Was she charmed? How could she do that? We all wondered when we heard the breaking news.
Actually, she broke the news by herself because there was no one to help her tell her dad.
She had newly met the guy who promised her heaven and earth. She isn’t from a wealthy family, but her dad tried to make everything work perfectly for her so that she wouldn’t lack, but it just happened that somehow, the unexpected happens.
She went straight to her dad to announce her readiness to be married before she resumed school. The guy she met wanted everything settled before she resumed so that she wouldn’t need to return to her dad’s home after school.
At first, she didn’t tell her dad the reason, but at some point, she had to let him know that she was pregnant, and the man responsible for the pregnancy was ready to take full responsibility. “You are just eighteen”, her dad responded. “How could you do this?” short of words, he walked out on her with tears and anger. Then, he said, “bring the man to me”.
At first, we thought he was going to give his blessings, but he warned the guy to stay away from his daughter instead. Then, he faced his daughter and said, “ I am no longer your dad. You can pack your things now, and leave my house”.
She is from a divorced family, so she knew her mum wouldn’t throw her away just like that. People make mistakes yeah, and the man was ready to take responsibility, then why would he not give his blessings? She cried, but she had her mum.
She carried the pregnancy to term, and birthed a really beautiful tiny boy who looked perfectly like his mum and dad combined. It was a thing of joy to be celebrated, but it seemed like a wrong celebration. It was a moody mildly happy celebration, but it happened anyway.
The dad and daughter never crossed path for years, until one day, the dad called his daughter on the phone, and invited her over for a conversation.
The purpose of the discussion was to ask when she would return home to continue her education. It was shocking, but it happened. He had forgiven her so fast because she’s his daughter after all. He couldn’t have thrown her away forever.
It’s not only in this generation that we have rebels as children. It has been happening for a long time now, just that it’s our turn to be parents, and we are seeing reasons our parents were so strict with us. Even with the strictness, a lot of children still ended up with teenage pregnancy, talk more of a generation with so much liberty.
I learnt from the man in this story that no matter what, family is family, especially, a parent-child relationship is not one that can be trashed suddenly because of a mistake.
As a parent, I can only make sure that the daughter doesn’t have her life ruined because she birthed another human as a teenager. As long as she’s seen the mistake as a mistake, and is unwilling to continue in that path, I’ll embrace her with her little human, and make sure to give them a good life as much as possible. Being a grandma at an early age isn’t a bad thing after all.
Images are mine.
Posted Using InLeo Alpha