Proverbs 22:6: A Gratitude Letter to My Parents.

Writing this at 6:30 am, because life didn’t end when I had to wake up at 5:30 am to prepare for an 8 am class.

Punctuality, amongst many other things- is one of the values my parents instilled in me. If they didn’t live by this value themselves, I honestly wonder what would have become of me 🤷🏽‍♀️.

I remember being in primary school, getting to school when the sky was still “blue”, waiting outside the classroom for the class assistants to come and open and clean the class 😂. Or that one class party in JSS3 that wasn’t meant to start until 9 a.m., but it was just a few minutes past 7 and my dad was already scolding us for being “late” so we wouldn’t meet “traffic”- when school was only thirty minutes away.

Back then, it felt unnecessary. Sometimes even annoying. But now I’m in the university, and I genuinely can’t imagine going late to class 😭. To me, once I’m late, it feels like I shouldn’t even bother going at all. And the discomfort that comes with that? Eiii

Somewhere along the way, those early mornings stopped feeling like punishment and started becoming part of me. What once felt like pressure slowly turned into discipline. What felt like stress became structure. Without consciously trying, I learned how to show up- on time, prepared, and responsible.

Looking back now, I realize my parents weren’t just teaching punctuality. They were teaching consistency. Respect for time. Respect for people. And responsibility for the life I was being entrusted with. They didn’t just say these things; they lived them- daily, quietly, and sometimes strictly.

“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

Growing up, I didn’t fully understand this verse. But now, in moments like these- early mornings, long days, responsibilities that don’t wait- I see it clearly. I see the seeds that were planted, and I see how they’ve stayed with me.

I’m still becoming. Still learning. Still unlearning.

But I carry what my parents taught me, even when I didn’t know I was learning it.

And for that, I am deeply grateful.

I love you, Daddy and Mummy.