Just as when you respect others irrespective of their age and the person reciprocate the respect so it is in showing heart of gratitude. Everyone want to be appreciated, most especially when you go out of your way to find solution to a problem in which the person in need can't afford to find solutions to in couple of hours let alone days.
Showing act of gratitude is an essential habit everyone should cultivate because it's shows how appreciative one is even when you're rendered little help. My training as a child is never to allow "thank you" dripped away from my mouth, I thank both young and old in every help they render unto me because I understand the adage that says "one good turn deserves another".
Almost everywhere, whether government establishment or private, once you know someone in the establishment your needs will be attended to immediately without stressing yourself. So lots of people get special treatment once you know someone or someone refers you to a friend working in a place. I've enjoyed and still enjoying that kind of privilege but I didn't take it for granted. I believe there is no crime in been referred to or helping someone out, but the greatest crime is for the person you helped not to show sign of gratitude in the help you've rendered.
I happened to have worked in the secondary session of a group of school which comprises of both primary and secondary sessions. So a couple living close to my house has a child in the primary session, so the mother begged me to allow her child walk home with me every Fridays because school closes early on Fridays and she won't be able to pick her up. I agreed because it won't cost me anything just for the child to follow me and along the way she will branch to their house and I will go my way that's all.
On a fateful Friday, I had a Church program so I didn't go home straight after school, so the girl was unable to follow me cause of the change in direction so I had to entrust her to the care of the senior prefect girl in the senior session to walk the little girl home which I believe the girl would do according to my instructions.
Only for me to see the couple outside their compound that same day while I was walking home late in the evening and the woman started yelling at me😳😳
"Why did I leave her precious child in the care of an immature student, what if the prefect forget and left her girl in school?.....that's very bad of me, I'm wicked, I shouldn't have done that, she's disappointed in me....blablabla (her husband cautioned her but she was just bluffing).
At first I was dumbfounded and didn't know what to say, it was as if I didn't hear her clearly because her accusations was baseless to me......her words pained me to the bone marrow and I felt cheated on how she repaid me with those harsh words.
The thought of not been the girl's class teacher, not working in the primary session was just ringing loud in my head and that walking home with the girl was just my heart of kindness.
I was furious but how I managed to suppress my anger still baffles me till today, but I have to suppress it because as a teacher we have to be very careful of how we address parents whether crazy or normal, cause most times parents tends to cook up stories just to favour themselves and we end up been blame for anything that happens. The only thing I altered was:
"sorry ma please don't be offended but as from today, find another way of how your girl gets home on Fridays then I walked away."
Her husband was shocked, he thought I would start exchanging words with his wife which I didn't. He quickly ran after me to beg, I laughed and waved it off. I told him to go back to his family, that it's nothing. But what she did pained me which I had to report to the girl's class teacher. The class teacher now told me the woman is very rude and an expert of complaints, who doesn't see anything good in whatsoever anyone does for her.
Although the ingrate later came to beg because her husband told her to do so but since that day, I never allow the girl to follow me home or even agreed to anything of such from any parents till I resigned from the school. But I learnt in the hard way never to expect a return for any good I might have done for anyone.
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