MORE THAN ONE THING

 

Prim Tumuramye

Recently, while I made juice with my nine-year old son, he asked me a question which he has posed countless times before.

‘Mummy, when you were young, how many things did you want to become?’ he asked, intently looking at me.

I did not have to give a second thought to this question. Not because of the countless times I had answered the same but rather, the fact that I could never forget my teenage career dream. When I was my son’s age, my career dreams oscillated from being a doctor to pilot and engineer. Then I grew up. As I grew up, I realized that it was not just about my fantasies; it was more about my investment into my dreams but also my natural abilities. Trying to remember all the parts of a Bunsen burner, putting into perspective the chemical formulas was not a cup of tea for me. Then came the biology practical lessons and dissecting God’s creatures like the frogs in the amphibian family. Till to date, I get goose pimples at the memory of those ugly creatures on the dissection table. It was clear that I would be the worst doctor if I pushed myself into the profession. Hospital visits remain one of my most dreaded tasks, no matter the reason for the visit.

‘I wanted to be a lawyer!’ I responded with gusto.

‘Only that?’ he asked in disbelief.

I recounted to him the story of my dreams, over three decades ago. As a high school teenager, I wanted to be a lawyer. My passion for law was not out of a burning quest for justice but it was out of the limited exposure I had at the time. It was crystal clear the scientific track was not near any my realistic options for a life career. Since my strength seemed to be in the arts field, I then thought law would be my best option for a life career. After all, lawyers were A students, confident and smart in their well adorned suits, no matter the weather. I wanted to be just that! I had also heard that you could not trace a poor lawyer on planet earth. Who wouldn’t have loved to belong to such a category of people? Today, I am a communications practitioner, not a lawyer as I dreamt. If anyone asked me what happened along the way, my answer would be simple; life happened. As a christian, I have the back up reassurance that my life journey is orchestrated by a power higher than I, for a divine purpose. For that purpose, I live.

‘What else could I have become?’ I asked my son.

His answer to my question was both mind blowing and eye opening. In me, he saw under utilized potential to become more than one thing.

‘I can see you are already a mother, wife and your job at Compassion.’ he said with a smile. ‘You can be like Daddy; he does his job at Uganda Christian University, is a farmer and also a driver.’

I am glad that he now knows that a person who tends plants/animals is a farmer. A few years ago, he called such a person a digger man, literally meaning a man who digs.

‘I don’t know about his driving job bit.’ I muttered.

‘He drives the family.’ he answered.

The little lad was right – in his eyes, the father had three equally important jobs, although some sounded more pompous than the others. For each of the said jobs, there is potential to eke out a living.

Our conversation made me reflect on the power of dreams and aspirations, but also a sweet reminder of what I had become.  It also presented the challenge of the more than one thing I could become. Moving forward, I want to embark on a soul-searching journey of the more things I could become, to utilize my full potential. One of those things could be becoming a professional writer. Who said I can’t learn a new language to supplement my Rukiga and English? I am convinced that I can become more!

Asked about what my son would like to become in future, he responded in three words: Actor, Mechanic and Creative inventor.

My eyes lightened up – it struck me that he could actually become all the three things he dreamt about.

Join me on the soul-searching journey, what more could you become?

Akampa in a floral night shirt, acting in a skit at home

                                                   ©Prim K. Tumuramye

Prim is a Christian, wife, mother and Communications Specialist at Compassion International. She is passionate about reading, writing, youth mentorship and intentional parenting.