How do you rate your year so far?

Min Atek

What you need to know:

So much has changed even when it does not appear so, right? I am also in awe of the reality that we have now entered the second half of the year 2022

Looking through my photo gallery, I landed on some pictures taken before the lockdown. I was sitting with the children and the older one did what she does best. She got my phone camera and took some great photos of us all.

Looking at those photos yesterday left me completely amazed. The change in a space of three to four years is stunning. The smallest and shortest human being in the photos is now the tallest of us all. It almost feels like overnight, there was a stop on some of us and he was instructed to grow past us. The person he is today is such a faint resemblance of who he was then.

Life can appear stagnant and yet feel like it is moving at a supersonic speed. Think about it, as a parent where were you three to five years ago? If you have any photos of that time, pull them out and take a keen look at them. What comes to mind when you see yourself and your children then and what things are like at present?

So much has changed even when it does not appear so, right? I am also in awe of the reality that we have now entered the second half of the year 2022.  Just the other day, we welcoming the New Year. There was more apprehension about what the future held. As a country, there was a wave of uncertainty. People were asking, what the New Year would bring.  Parents were not sure if the new school term would be cut short by another lockdown. There was a weariness in the atmosphere.

We have gone six months now. The children are in school. One student confided that because of the extended time, they were away from school, many of his classmates have resorted to cheating in exams.

How do you rate your year so far? Is it even worthwhile to evaluate? I am deliberately ignoring the fact that because of the sharp and consistent rise in fuel prices, we have a sharp rise in inflation. We have a challenge on our hands out of which new innovations and ideas are going to be birthed.

What do these times speak to us as parents? We have a few options. We can get upset and join the bandwagon of those complaining about the circumstances. We can also start to be creative in the way we manage the resources we have at hand.

Maybe we can look at car-pooling to manage the fuel expenses when transporting children to school. What about all the food we often waste when we cook and serve much more than is required? Is there room for improvement?

This is reality. Interesting times are upon us as a nation, a people and a race. We must raise the children God has given us in the best way.