One thing I’ll admit is that I was a stubborn kid. I grew up worrying my parents a lot and my mom eventually started becoming tired of me. In my defense, I grew up with boys, and they were so stubborn, so I had to also try my best to catch up.
My mom taught us how to do our laundry very early, around the ages of 6 to 8. At first, it was a little bearable because we had a washing machine but after my stubbornness led me to destroy it, Saturday mornings became my biggest nightmare.
I can’t even use words to describe how much I hated Saturday mornings. Like with everything in me. Since the washing machine became faulty, my mom taught us how to wash with our hands. She actually wanted to repair it, but when my aunty found out why it got spoiled in the first place, she told her not to.
Eventually I started washing my school uniform myself every Saturday morning. Have I already said it was a nightmare? My exciting Saturday mornings became a huge burden on me. One particular Saturday, instead of washing my uniform, I went for a fun fair. All my friends were going, so I had to also try my best and be there.
When I returned that evening, my mom scolded me for not washing my uniform. She was so angry because we were in rainy season and she wanted to make sure my uniform got dried before Monday morning. She told me I wasn’t going to play games with my brothers for a whole month.
That punishment got me so angry because I wasn’t the only one whose uniform wasn’t washed. There and then, I decided that enough was enough and my mom was indeed more cruel than the wicked stepmom in Cinderella.
I packed my bags and told her I knew I wasn’t her biological daughter so I was going to look for my real mother. I remember telling her that my real mother will never scold me for not washing my uniform. In fact, if she were my biological mom, she would even wash it for me so that I could rest after coming from the funfair.
When I was a kid, I thought my mom was wicked for what she did, but then I later realized she did me a favor by teaching me to do my laundry. Now, anytime I wake up on Saturday morning, the first thing I do is do my laundry. And it actually helps me not only to keep my clothes clean but also to have the rest of the day to myself. The coolest part is I don’t have to worry about a dress being dirty when I need it. All I have to do is just go get it.
Nobody should tell my mom this, but a very big thank you to her for scolding me that evening.
Images are mine