Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Children are the most important

Second of February was a National Holiday in Mexico.
Well, actually it was on the fifth of February but to allow the population a long weekend, the National Holiday was switched from Thursday to Monday.

This Mexican way of doing is very smart.
For many reasons it is not productive to have a National Holiday and consequently everything coming to a standstill on a day like a Thursday.
Why not make all National Holidays flexible?
We keep them on the traditional dates but celebrate on the closest Monday or Friday.

Yesterday, during the morning coffee, a bunch of Mexicans were together in Lucretia’s kitchen and the question was asked what exactly was celebrated on the fifth of February.
And no one knew…
However, Mabel went inside the small house and checked a calendar.
She learned that it was the 92nd anniversary of the Mexican Political Constitution.

Because of the long weekend, the rancho was bustling with children.
Helping on the rancho and playing.

They came up with something new.
At the end of the afternoon is the daily running of your faithful servant.
Deadly tired, upon return, this time the kids had formed a line and shouted while clapping their hands:
“One, two, three:
MMMMIIIIIIII
GGGGUUUU
EEELLLLLL !!!!!!!”

The whole dry riverbed reverberated their yelling.

And then, after the shower, Antonio approached shyly and asked:
“Miguel, will you teach us again tonight?”

So, over dinner, Antonio was explained that the most important thing for adults are children.
Hence, if he asks for classes, he will get classes.
All other priorities of this adult become secondary because the children are simply the most important.
This impressed Antonio very much.
He was asked:
“Antonio, and for you, what is the most important?”
He was a little embarrassed and shy and didn’t know what to say.
So, to make the unusual question easier for him to answer, he was asked:
“What is more important to you: your bike or your mother?”
His face opened and with a big smile he replied:
“Mama”.
“And what is more important: your collection of small cars or your father?”
“My Daddy”.
By then he truly realized what it was about and suddenly he came with a question himself:
“Miguel, what is more important to you: your camper or my Grandmother?”
“Your Grandmother is more important to me than even 10 campers”.

That impressed him very much and when the other adults in the kitchen all had claimed that also for them the children were the most important, Antonio left very satisfied and happy to join the other children awaiting the class.

But when dinner was finished, all the children were gathered around the solar powered satellite TV and were watching a cartoon film.
An imitation of Walt Disney’s “Bambi”.

“What about the classes?”, they were asked.
Their reply?
“MaƱana”.






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