I am extremely proud of my Neanderthol this morning. I won’t embarrass him by explaining the context – at this point in time, it’s his business – not anyone else’s.
But, even though pride is a sin, I am as proud as any mother could possibly be.
This morning, my son showed me what he’s made of. It’s pretty rousing stuff. He won’t be bullied. He doesn’t want his parents to fight his battles for him. He quietly told me that he intends to confront the bully who attempted to embarrass him on social media yesterday. He intends to tell them that he he did not like the video that was posted. He will ask them why they thought it was a good idea. And then he will remind them that bullying is totally unacceptable and he wants an apology.
That’s all.
I am so very proud of him.
He has always been inspired by Nelson Mandela and has loved the sport of rugby since the day he was born. When the film ‘Invictus’ came out, he was massively inspired by the message that in order to overcome evil in this world, one must face it, speak it and then forgive it. Mandela’s repeated recital of the poem ‘Invictus’ during his long incarceration on Robin Island gave him courage and strength to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles and the story of how this also provided inspiration for the South African rugby team, which in turn led to the inspiration of an entire nation, possibly even the whole world, to do the same is a remarkable and very moving tale.
Toby has a copy of the poem in his pocket today.
Thanks for reading.
Aoife's Wanderings 