Gerald D'Cunha

A couple of days ago, I was talking to one of my brothers over the phone. This bother of mine lives abroad with his wife and the school-going son. Like all other parents, my brother and his wife too had been struggling with the issues relating to a teenager’s growth, particularly studies. The constant anxiety and silent irritations… these, eventually, either make many of us, parents, either cynical or wise in life… In my brother’s case, thankfully, it has been the latter… It has left them wiser. “It’s all in the family,” my brother said jokingly, “our son is exactly like how we were – a ‘late bloomer’… You know how we found our way, I am sure, he, too, will… He will be a survivor.” I started laughing in joy… How true that was! The only difference between we bothers and our children was: our parents weren’t educated and didn’t have high expectations from us, their children. But, they did remind us, constantly, to study, behave well, be pious… and, then, they lef...