For A Mother’s Love – Part II
MANDEVILLE, MANCHESTER: THERE ARE many children who grew up knowing only their grandparents as their nurturer and provider, and while some may later be reunited with parents, others never have the same fate.
Vinette Daley, though not raising her grandchildren on her own, has seen it fit to be an instrumental part of their lives no matter the circumstances.
Daley, who lives in Santa Cruz and travelled to Mandeville for the Triple C Camp Parent/Child Mentorship Programme, said her grandson is a part of her and she will always be there to support him and guide him along, as long as she has life.
“I had him from he was one week old, up until he was nine years old. You see because I grow him, I have this connection with him. I know a lot about him and why he does the things he does. He was always a good-behaving child and I realise after he moved he started giving some trouble. But I come to realise that sometimes children act out when they experience change, and I think that is what happened with him,” Daley explained
She said while she understands that children will have their moments of acting out, she knows it is her duty to help him make sense of life’s confusing troubles.
“We talk about everything and I try to encourage him to do the things he loves, like football and music. He plays the keyboard and drum and him even play at church,” Daley told The Gleaner.
They say with age comes wisdom as a result of many experiences, and Daley ensures that the information she has come to know and prove is imparted to her grandson.
“I always tell him to stay away from bad company and not to get into anything that is illegal,” Daley noted.
She said she was not as privileged as many of the children today, who either grew up with parents or very close relatives.
“I grew up with people who took me from my mother at a tender age and I did not really go back to my mother until I was around 17 years old. I grew up well, though, decent home and well-mannered people. I grew up knowing that I have a role to play, and my grandchildren, as a result, know the value of hard work,” said Daley.
“I tell them all the time that they must do house chores. I have six grandchildren and they know who must sweep the yard and who must tie out the goats, and because of this, they have grown to love and respect me.”
The matriarch said it is her wish that her children and grandchildren prosper and be in good overall health.
“I want my grandchildren in the future to look back and say, ‘I am who I am today because of how I grew up’. I want them to understand that the seed they sow is what they will reap. I also want them to understand that they have a responsibility to be the best that they can be.”