‘Another plane passing overhead!’ I shouted to my sister as we both
ran out into the yard and started shouting and waving at the plane. This has become
our daily ritual as planes passes overhead almost on a daily basis. Oh those were
the days!!!! Glorious days back in Jamaica. Not a care in the world and loving it.
Little did I know back then how my life, our lives would change so drastically in
the future.

I am now and 34 years old divorcee living on my own in England and hating every
minute of it. But how did my life ended like this after sending a wonderful fairy tale
like life growing up in Jamaica. (Well stick around and I’ll tell you all about it)

I was born into a loving family way back in the early seventies. My father was an
Police Constable and my mother was a teacher but just not any teacher. She was one
of those strict disciplinarian who has never spoken ‘patois’. She was from a family
of professionals, doctors, lawyers, judges etc. My father on the other hand was the
son af a ‘mere farmer’. Both his parents were farmers from the country and my
mother, unfortunately, never made him forget that. She also drilled into him, which was
also overheard by us that it was her house which she’d built at age 21. And a big
house it was too. Five bedroom, two baths and all the works. Inspite of my mothers
snobbishness, my father loved her dearly. He worshipped the ground that she walked
on, or so I heard from my aunts and everyone who knew my mum and dad back in their
‘young days’.

Well back to me. When I was born I had already four older sibblings, two brothers
and two sisters. I became the baby of the family and was threated as thus. My
sibblings and I lacked nothing while growing up. Every thing we wanted was given to us
especially by our dad who was trying so hard to please our mum. We were never
allowed to play with other kids from the neighbour this was due partially to my mother’s
upbringing. She was never allowed by her father to play with neighbours kids and so
she bought it into her own family. Not playing with other children in the
neighbourhood didn’t bother us as we had everything we wanted, the main attraction being a
huge swing which hung from a huge swing in the front of our yard. That swing became
the envy of the whole neighbourhood.