As a boy, I cared more for sport than I did for my studies and as a result my school reports showed me to be an average student. However, my parents thought that I had the potential to do much better in the classroom than on the sports field. So one day, Dad promised to give me a pushbike if I came first in my class. I took him at his word and devoted more time to my studies than ever before.
That year I did come first!
One of the traditional rituals at Kingswood College, Sri Lanka was the “ducking” of boys who reached the top of their class and so I had to walk home soaking wet! How can I forget?
I waited with bated breath for my bike and I’m still waiting!
As you can imagine, this was one hell of a disappointment for me and the memory of it was burned onto me as with a branding iron. So when I reached years of discretion I promised myself that if ever I was blessed with a child I would make every effort never to break my promises to it. I like to think I never did!
Years later my only son, Wayne promised me “the time of my life”- all expenses paid— if I visited him in America and in 2005 he delivered on his promise!
He made the two weeks I stayed with him and Andrea the most memorable of my entire life. I guess what goes around does indeed come around!!
I remember reading somewhere that “Between today and tomorrow are graves, and between promising and fulfilling are chasms.”
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