The Street Performer
This picture shows a child lying face down and a guitar beside them.
So, you want to hear about the guitar child?
If you read my earlier post ("Ask… and You Shall Be Given"), you'll know that IA 2 wanted a guitar for their birthday, and against all the odds their sibling had calculated, they got one.
What I did not anticipate was what they would do with it.
They had clearly been paying attention. You know how you sometimes see musicians busking in town centres, guitar out, a little tin or container on the ground, and passersby dropping in coins? Well, IA 2 had seen this. They had studied this. And they had decided, with great entrepreneurial confidence, that this was an excellent way to make money.
One day, while I was at work, they told the childminder they wanted to stand on the street with their guitar and perform.
Now, the childminder, bless her, thought this was charming. "Oh, they are just being creative!" she said, and off they went.
My older one, IA 1, knew better. "Mum won't like this," they said. They were right.
But nobody listened to IA 1 that day.
So there was my child, standing on the street, guitar in hand, their best friend beside them for moral support, and people actually stopped. They actually put money in his tin.
Now, I want to be very clear about something: as an African mother, what I saw when I heard this story was my child begging for alms on a public street. That is what it was. I don't care how charming it looked to the neighbours.
And don't let anyone tell you the child didn't know exactly what they were doing. Because after the performance, they carefully sorted out the smaller coins, handed them to their friend, and marched straight to the chip shop for fries.
The real comedy came a few days later, when one of our neighbours stopped us and asked, very genuinely, when the next show was going to be. Apparently, he had enjoyed it enormously and was looking forward to the next performance.
IA 2 had to look him in the eye and, with great reluctance, explain that their mother had forbidden them from embarrassing the family on the street.
I still don't know whether to laugh or be mortified. I do both, usually at the same time.
Can you relate? Did your child ever do something that was equal parts hilarious and absolutely not okay? Drop it in the comments. I'd love to know I'm not alone.
If your children have the same entrepreneurial energy during this school holiday, I have something to keep those little hands and big ideas productively busy. No street performances required.
👉 Children's Confidence activity books — Self Care Shop — Ruthy Michaels👉 Adult Self-Care journals and colouring books — Self Care Shop — Ruthy Michaels
Bundles are available, too, because after a story like this, you definitely deserve something for yourself.
One more thing: colouring isn't just for kids. I've put a free calm colouring page on my website specifically for mums. 10 minutes. That's all it takes. Go grab it.
