It is surprising that while many mums of Elizabeth's friends watched her closely for years, only two mothers seemed to link the child with her family. The first car pool with me, effectively having the two girls spending much time together daily. The second invited my family to her life group. Since life groups meet weekly, for many years we were close.
The first mum sells fruits. She is very busy with her business and works long hours. Implicitly she trusted me with her child. I suppose it never occur to her that my daughter is bright due to genetic inheritance alone. She has great faith that I would be able to influence her child in a good way. She never doubt that I could help bring out the full potential in her girl.
At this point I must state that I have had no training in teaching whatsoever. Since I was thirteen years old I had been a home tutor to pupils younger than I. After my high school graduation I taught temporarily in a public school substituting a teacher on maternity leave. After my first child was born I started lecturing in English on a part-time basis. Shortly after my last child was born I lost the ability to walk and had to stop working for a few years.
The second mum is a specialist doctor. From day one when she heard that Elizabeth could copy from the black board faster than most girls, she encouraged her child to befriend mine. A week later she asked for my home phone number and dropped by to introduce herself. Since then they have been such blessings to us. Whenever my husband and I had to leave town, they had hosted Elizabeth. With such generous support, we were able to go on mission trips when Elizabeth was young.
It is interesting to note that the first mum is a Buddhist. The second mum is a committed Christian. My daughter had the privilege of having good friends who are from different faiths. Just two days ago I met her pre-university classmate who is a Baha'i. At that time, a few of them were studying Economics together in McDonald's.
If I did anything right with Elizabeth, it was giving her a good childhood in a small town. The added bonus of community living in a rural place actually added value to her upbringing. The simplicity of unhurried life made it possible for a few families to meet often. I met a handful of mothers online, most of them transferred from the capital city or out of town. We were so close that we watched over each others' children. When one of us caught another's child misbehaving we would censure the child immediately and take some time to explain why it was not acceptable. It is actually advantageous to have more than one mother figure in a child's life. The consistent boundary set and kept contributed to a well behaved child with a healthy self image. The confident way she carries herself attracted many friends. With a big number of potential friends to choose from, she was able to form lasting friendships. Even though years later she had to uproot and move to another city, the good foundation enabled her to adjust well. The move from a city to a small town was ordained by God, certainly a not human choice. Hence I have a lot to thank God for.
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