Ejimnkeonye Onyido
@ejimnkeonyeonyido450742
1 year ago

GOOD INTENTIONS, BAD DECISIONS

The Christmas of 2022 is one Remi will never forget, not because she got a lot of presents or all her relatives came down, but because of what happened. He father went to jail on Christmas Eve. He was not a bad man, just sometimes a careless one. He was on the EFCC watchlist for sending fake credit alerts to people, and he must've done it again on Christmas Eve. He was apprehended at ShopRite just before supper time, and his car was left in the parking lot, full of Santa's surprises for the wonderful morning.

When Remi and her mother found out what happened, they were furious. How dare he ruin Christmas for everyone? What kind of father goes to jail on Christmas Eve? Nobody would get any presents. She looked at her mother just in time to see her wipe away a painful tear, and then it occurred to her. She faced her mother and said, "I know we all feel bad, but how do you think Dad feels? I bet he feels like a real failure right now. How would you like to spend Christmas in jail? He's probably worrying about what we're going to think of him. And we all know he wouldn't do something like this on purpose. Accidents happen."

She paused for their reaction. Mrs. Seyi held her breath, looking admiringly at her daughter's thoughtful face. When she finally spoke, she said, "You're right. He probably feels terrible." Remi began to cry. Mrs. Seyi continued, suddenly inspired. "Let's wait for Christmas! We can have it when your Dad gets home. It's only a couple of days, and we can have it like he never was gone!" She was overrwhelmingly supported by Remi.

When her father got home two nights later, walking in the door with a tired and appreehensive look on his face, Christmas Eve dinner was steaming on the table. His wife and daughter came roaring downstairs to greet him, a massive flurry of hugs and kisses. Tears of joy and relief brimmed in his eyes, and he exclaimed, "I'm the luckiest father and husband in the world!"

For the first time, Remi realised that her parents aren't just her father and her mother, they are real people with dreams of their own. Parents also make mistakes, and they can feel just as bad as any kid. The lesson she learned became a valuable one as she grew up understanding why they did things the way they did. That gave her respect for their decisions, a respect she might not have had otherwise.

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1. Do you think the daughter and wife are typical?
2. In your experience, are teenagers generally forgiving?
3. Are parents under pressure to "do the right thing"?
4. In this case, has the father done "the right thing"? How many different ways can you view his action?
5. In the final paragraph, Remi makes a number of assertions about parents: "they are real people with dreams of their own"; "parents also make mistakes"; "they can feel just as bad as any kid." Do you have enough information to accept these statements? Are there too many of them?
6. Remi says, "Accidents happen," with reference to her father's lapse of judgement in sending fake credit alerts. Do you think his deliberate violation of the law was justified?
7. Have you ever faced a situation where you"did wrong" in order to "do right"?