Lessons from our little ones… because children are a gift!

So I was in Nigeria at the end of February (don’t even ask why I’m writing about this now), and it was such a blessing to be home! My father surprised me by meeting me at the airport, and my sister waited at home for me so I could take my nephew to school! What a joy, especially since he recognized me!

I love him to pieces!

I spent six days in Abuja, and I promise you I could blog about every single day I spent with my boy! I learned a lot of things from him too, and that’s what this chronicle is about.

1. Children do exactly what they see adults do, not really what you say. Apart from ‘Mummy’ and ‘Daddy’, the constants in my nephew’s mouth are ‘sit down’, ‘no, no, no, no, no’, shut the door’, etc., all with the accompanying hand gestures! Hilarious. First time he wagged his baby fingers while Skyping me, I nearly fell from my chair with laughter.

We’ve got videos of Boo Boo doing squats because his mom and I were doing them, and there’s the time he picked up his belt and started jumping with his arms stretched out in front of him…again because he’d seen his Momma skipping earlier!

Lesson: Be careful – you can give a million pieces of advice, but it is what you do that your children will do.

2. The award for short attention span – has to go to children. The younger, the shorter. Once you understand this point to the ‘t’, you will live a long and prosperous life! By long and prosperous I mean you won’t burst an artery in anger because it seems like you’re saying the same thing over and over again! Cue me telling Boo Boo not to touch the keyboard on my laptop when we’re watching anything on it. I tell him, he takes his fingers off. Exactly 90 seconds after, you’ll hear, “Boo Boo but I told you not to touch it”… and another 60 seconds later, sigh.

3. Their little gestures make everything worth it. One of the days on this trip was very difficult, it seemed like everything that could go wrong, went wrong and by the end of the day, I was truly upset with it all.

I got home, and as soon as I walked in the door Boo Boo looked up and shouted ‘Mama’, and ran to hug me. The light in his eyes, the excitement in his voice, and the big cuddle we shared made everything ok. Instantly.

4. Curiosity killed the cat – what I actually meant to say is that the curiosity of your little one will kill (literally) a few o four possessions. Not because they are inherently destructive, but because their minds are expanding, and it is understanding things around them that causes this expansion. God is a rock star in the sense that often times the things little children are drawn to play a big part in determining what careers they go for later in life.

We set Boo Boo down in the living room to watch reruns of Muppet Show ( I have no faith in the cartoons of today): my sister and I were sorting his clothes in the room.

After a little while we felt like going to check on him (since he had been worryingly quiet), and here’s what we found.

His majesty had separated the remote! What amused me most was the way he didn’t even flinch when we came into the living room, like in his mind, he hadn’t done anything out of the ordinary.

Crossed legs and everything, my baby is a boss!

Let’s end this with me calling my sister a couple nights ago to ask her to Skype me later so I could chat with Boo Boo (like to do this at least once a week so he doesn’t forget me) and she said she couldn’t.

Why?

His majesty had immersed her iPad in a bucket of water! By the time she found, out, it had soaked, and the prayer became, “Oh God please let it work again, or let me be able to claim on my insurance”!

But we thank God for children everyday because they are a joy, a blessing, an absolute gift from God that give our lives meaning and instill responsibility in us. And today I celebrate my nephew, praising God for the cutest baby on earth, my nephew Boo Boo!

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“Thank you for being part of my 2013” – Guess who?

Today is the last day of 2013, and the end of the #31days31writers project. Whoop! I am more than grateful to everyone who took the time to send in an entry, and for the ones I asked who for one reason or the other, couldn’t. I’m excited that everyone learned something, and blessed that thanks to one platform, I could share the experiences of 31 amazing people. Thank you so much!

2013 has been my most challenging year, I’m not even going to muck about. From losing 4 cousins and an aunty in a road accident, to an uncle, and then my most precious aunty Pat, there have been times when I didn’t know if I wanted to see the next morning. And it’s not like I didn’t lose anyone else, I just stopped counting. Death is cruel, shameless, and without discretion, but it taught me a few things. I learned to make every minute count, to make the effort to keep in touch, to love hard, but also to  know when to walk away.

I learned that acquaintances are plenteous, but friends are few, and to cherish each friendship (and pray to God they return the favour, lol).

I learned firsthand that depression and suicidal tendencies are real, and not just the exclusive preserve of the ‘West’. And I learned that God is bigger. Oh He’s a whole lot bigger!

I learned that I just might have a little issue with replying emails in a timely fashion. And I am determined (and working towards) not having that on my list of things to work on by the end of 2014.

It wasn’t all gloom and doom though (according to Russell Howard) – my dad launched his writing ministry this year with six books, and has since written another three (rockstar), my Boo Boo turned one this year, and at eighteen months is feeding himself (my baby Einstein)! I did quite a bit of travelling this year (for which I am grateful), and there are locked down work trips for the new year already! My mom, big brothers and sister are alive, healthy, prosperous; God is leading us to our place of rest and I couldn’t be more grateful. I love you guys to the moon and back!

My baby channeling the Christmas spirit! He’s the cutest baby on earth!

I am grateful for Nike Coker (Chief Sista), Francesca Uriri (my sister girl), and my bestie Wumi; friends who have literally become blood. People I would give anything for, people I would lay down my life for (hopefully they don’t ask *smile*); people for whom I am number one (sometimes, anytime, more than one time, lol!), in words, thoughts, and deeds. I love you and I am thankful you were a part of my year.

Now that I’ve covered what I’ve learned and the people I am grateful for, what would I do differently if I could? Nothing. I would say I’d keep all those precious ones from dying but that’s not my decision to make (wouldn’t have happened in the first place if it was).

And, because I can (and it is *cough cough* my blog), I have two resolutions for the new year:

1. Work VERY hard to reply emails/messaging in nothing over 24 hours.

2. Succeed! Big time!

Thanks a million for being on my blog today, and therefore being a part of my 2013. Have an extra productive new year!

Peace, love, and God’s great blessings,

The Fairy GodSister.

Miss CC!!

P:S – I thought I would do one separate post thanking all my writers and listing all their articles; that story is here.

Here’s what I got up to this week…

Hiya!

What did you get up to this week? Good stuff I hope. My week’s been one massive bag of emotions leaking all over the place, but that’s how life gets sometimes isn’t it? Thank God for strength to get through it, emerge in one piece type of thing.

So I’m going to run through my week very quickly, been a while I did that, and hopefully I can get you to share what you’ve been up to as well.

Sunday

Hillsongs rocked!! I don’t think my Sundays are complete without church on Sunday, but even more cos I attend the best worship services at Hillsongs!! By the way, there’s a Christmas Carol at Wembley Arena on the 20th of December and you should totally come!!!

Decided to do the ‘a post a day’ for my blog in December. Put the word out on Twitter for 31 people to write about their year and the response was so good, I started getting submissions almost immediately! Cool! Cool!

Monday

Woke up early, got quite a bit of work done on YNaija2015 (www.ynaija2015.com). Pause. I’m Founding Editor for this news site, and working with the smartest guys in the room, we deliver political analysis and news out of Nigeria every single day. Strictly political. I’ve been working on this since it was launched in April, and I totally love it! You need to see the ‘high’ monitoring the elections in Anambra (a state in the Eastern part of Nigeria) all the way from the UK gave me! Should totally be on ground for elections next year and 2015, but I digress.

Got some great feedback for some work I turned in for Future Challenges, that was great too. Don’t really remember anything else I did.

Skyped with a darling in the evening, was so cool!

 

Tuesday

Did a lot of writing today, I got some groceries, and I wore my new wellies to ASDA even though it wasn’t raining. Did you notice I said the wellies were new? Lol. They’re Apple Bottoms, and I love them!

‘Facetimed’ with Booski today. First time in a couple of days so that was good. Plans, plans, plans.

By the way, we’re attending the premiere for MTV’s Shuga next week! Need to go hunt for a dress that will look fabulous but protect me from the cold!

 

Wednesday

Crazy day, emotionally. Started with the two-hour phone call, and I’m grateful for the decision we took on me renewing my passport immediately.

Went to iron a top to wear to see the stage performance of ‘Lion King’, and ironing brought back vivid memories of my aunty. My desolation must have been palpable, I don’t think I cried as much as I did on Wednesday like I did when I heard she’d passed. I miss her so much. So so much.

Yeah, got an email (somewhat unpleasant) concerning some work I’d delivered on. Looked at it and smiled. Least of my worries for now I promise you. Will take my time and deal with that over the weekend.

I got up, had a shower, and went off to London. Had a brilliant time (thank you @Chude)!

 

Thursday

Went to start the process of renewing my passport (I’ve promised myself I won’t do the story till I have my new passport in my hand so you’ll have to wait a bit for that).

Had something called ‘Red Thai curry‘ with lots of veg, rice and beans at a place called ‘Pod’ somewhere in London town, loved it! Then I got a micro sim for my HTC, and just like that, I’ve kissed the Blackberry goodbye! I miss it though, and even though I still have a sim in it anymore, I still use it.

Came home, actually slept off on the train so went past my stop (blame the Nigerian High Commission for tiring me out), but I got home ok at the end of the day. Passed out on the sofa, hunger woke me up so I ate and crawled upstairs.

Evening should have gone differently but hey…

 

Friday

Skyped with my brother, and then spoke to Mamman this morning. I miss my mother to bits! And my sister, and my dad, and my brother, and Boo Boo, and my boyfriend. By the way, Boo Boo is all grown now, I think I’m ready to start accepting applications for the post of ‘wife’!

That’s Boo Boo, the cutest baby boy on earth, and my besto Wumi!

Emotion, emotions, emotional! Soon as Momma started praying for me (and I swear I needed it), my ‘floodgates’ just opened and I was bawling for most of the day. I miss aunty so much, and fingers crossed my Dad can deliver on what I want him to early next year. That’d be many shades of awesome, if he can pull that off for me.

Grateful to Francesca (@ZanyFran) for talking with me and giving me my first laugh of the day, and for people who love me unconditionally, unreservedly, and don’t mind going over the same thing again and again just for me to get it.God bless you two.

That’s where I am now. Friday evening. Once I’m done with this I  have to finish two articles and send them off to my Editor (yep, this editor has got an editor, several in fact). Then I’ll speak to my dad, and it’ll be bedtime.

Need to shop for my dress tomorrow, post off some stuff (including some tea to a sister in Aberdeen), and then either get a massage or see a movie, or maybe I will do both! I have promised myself I will shake off this despondency, even if it’s the last thing I do!

Love, peace, and everything sweet,

The Fairy GodSister.

 

 

 

 

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ABUJA to CAIRO…..

All good things come to an end right? It came to pass that on a certain day, the return leg of my London–Abuja ticket became valid. Therefore, it was time to kiss Nigeria good-bye and head back to cold, loveless London.

That morning, I gave my darling Boo Boo a bath, prepped him for crèche (yes he goes to crèche and he has a book too), and then I got myself ready. I sped to my hairstylist’s to change my nail varnish (only I can tell why I left it till the day I was to travel) and when I’d waited for 20 minutes after the time I’d agreed we’d meet, I put the car in reverse to leave. As an aside, why do people tick you off intentionally, and then beg? Why?

Next stop was at my aunt’s, tailor was supposed to meet me there. I agree with the person who told me that my relationship with the tailor existed because I enjoyed a certain level of sadomasochism, i.e. causing myself pain. Of course he didn’t bring everything he was supposed to bring,  but that’s content for a totally different blog post!

Ran off to my sister’s to kiss her good-bye (we were both very brave), remember wiping a tear when I drove past Boo Boo’s crèche; only  reason I didn’t go in there was I knew I’d cry myself into changing the date of my flight!

By this time I’d gotten like three calls from my Dad asking if I was checked in at the airport, and errrrr, it was just past 10am. For a 1.30pm flight? And with benefit of hindsight, I don’t think I will ever bust my behind to be early for an Egypt Air flight, they are always at least 20 minutes late.

Anyway, so I got to the airport, checked in (no I wasn’t upgraded, silly people) and then I left the International wing for Aero’s Departure Lounge. It houses Biobak, and I’d been craving their food since the last time I was there.

One plate of rice and catfish later, I was back in our lounge. We boarded by 2pm, and again, Egypt Air didn’t have personal entertainment systems! Are they even allowed to do that?? Arrrgh!! And this was a 737-200! Anyway, brilliant thing about the airline is they let you use ANY electronic device once the plane’s up in the air. So I watched movies on my laptop, did some work, and then I slept.

All of this happened after I had bawled majorly! You know, I say that each time I leave will be different but nooooo.., I have to cry each and every time I leave. I should just come back and never leave again abi? Lol. Sometimes I think of myself as that parent who will form ‘strong face’ as they drop their kid off at boarding school, then cry all the way home. *sigh*

Got to Cairo about 8pm, stop over was about 21 hours; on purpose because I’d sworn I’d spend a day in Cairo. Had to sit and wait a bit while they sorted us into hotels based on our onward journey times the next day. I got Le Meridien, somewhere in town; by the way there are about five Le Meridien’s in Cairo.

Finally got to the hotel about 11pm, and I’d made two friends, Hannah and Miss @Olameday! Settled in to dinner, and it was a hilarious time, swapping tales of adventures in hotels! Smiling at the thought! Learnt from @Olameday that you’re more likely to get better service if you address the waiter by name; that’s how we got our meals changed!

Couple of things to note if you plan to plan a 21 hour stopover in Cairo:

• no need to buy the $15 dollar visa. The airport officials hold on to your passport anyway so technically you don’t need it.
• Everyone will try to fleece you of some money (but I guess that’s a normal issue all tourists face); don’t be afraid to haggle. More on this point in the ‘Cairo’ post.
• Their sockets are different from the ones in Nigeria.

ah ha… this is what it looks like… Take a travel adapter! Even though the hotel staff were nice enough to hand out adapters, and then helped me charge all my stuff when they ran out of adapters… Bless them.

After dinner I stayed in the lobby to chat with Ace via wi-fi, then it was off to my ‘LAN only’ cabled room for a good night’s rest, and dreams filled with flashbacks of the extra special Christmas I had.

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