I see it vividly, the 2 bedrooms, the kitchen, the storeroom, the living room, the back garden that was overgrown and left untended for a long time. For a few years it was the 4 of us...then 3 and then finally 2 as my sisters moved on. My mother and I stayed there on our own for several years....till 1998 infact. There are so many memories associated with that house, perhaps that's why I remember it. Over time, we made it better, we made it nicer, we made it a good home. But there was real adversity back then, times when luxuries were a far dream and the day to day basics were a struggle. We made it through because my mother worked incessantly. I learned how to keep myself entertained back then as between coming home from school and around 7pm she was busy teaching and it was only then that we had some time to connect.
Why do I see that house so regularly nowadays? It's been 28 years since we moved out of there....but that was where I learnt the value of hard work and the value of dedication....not to oneself but to the future. She dedicated every second of her life to making sure I had a chance to break out of the adversity we were in. Perhaps this is why I push myself everyday to make sure my kids have fewer challenges (or perhaps atleast different challenges) than I did when I was growing up.
I am thankful for where I am now, this is all because of the effort she put in....basically gave up her life so I could have mine. Perhaps I am repeating that for the next generation.....to an extent I have given them a better and a more secure foundation than I had but there is always so much more to do.
Maybe seeing that home is a way for me to remember just how far I have come....all that I have achieved. I do miss it....it was a comfortable place despite its shortcomings. I grew up there in a sense....I realised the difficult nature of life and the struggle we need to do....I remember the small pleasures and the happiness created there.
