Golden thoughts

  "As proud as a peacock" Yeah, you gotta know that phrase to pass your English exams, yet it is so completely false. The peacock's beautiful feathers were given, by the One who makes all things beautiful, to show who it is. Yet, spreading those feathers to make a magnificent fan, rather than fascinate, has earned it the badge "prideful". For being? For daring to be seen? For refusing to hide its beauty away? For knowing that to truly be, there has to be an audacious expression of self? For refusing to be like another bird, who does not have such feathers and cannot spread those it has like so? Okay.

  Oji a.k.a. Kola nut : A national treasure. One of my earliest memories takes me back to nursery school.

When you say your names to yourself, do they sound like you? Do they remind you of who you are?

Remi Ayorinde smiled at her reflection in the mirror. I look absolutely wonderful, for a sixty-year old. She turned her face from one side to the other. Satisfied with her inspection, she patted it gently. Of course, there are a few wrinkles here and there, but I’ve fared a lot better than most. She allowed the towel wrapped around her chest to drop and still looking at the mirror, she slowly turned around, looking her body over. When she faced the mirror again, her hands went up to cup her breasts gently, then a slow smile lit up her face. They are a tad fuller than I’m used to, but I must admit, they are perky! Her hands dropped and she gently ran her right hand over her belly. The fold she had always hated, on the lower portion, was gone. A tiny part of me misses that proof that those beautiful babies came out of me, all those years ago… A very tiny part, though. She giggled and ran her hands on both sides of her waist, before twisting to look at her back. Bye-bye, lov...

“I love you.” There was no response for about two minutes after the message was read, so Femi Ayorinde frowned and sent another. “Please, say something.” “What do you want me to say? That you have a funny way of showing it? Or that I don’t think you’ve ever understood what love means?” He blew out a breath from his mouth. “Please, don’t be like that.” “Femi, have these years not meant anything to you at all?” “How can you say that? This situation torments me too, you know?” “Torment? Does whatever that word means to you, come close to how I feel, just by looking at your DP?” Femi sighed wearily and dropped his blackberry phone on the ledge of the bathtub. He closed his eyes before rubbing his left thumb and index finger over them. When he dropped his hand and opened his eyes, he picked up the phone and stared at the open chat. The smiling face he had used as his display picture stared back at him, her dimples winking at him. He gently rubbed his right thumb over...

“I loved you a whole lot, back then, you know.” She turned her head quickly to him. He kept his eyes on the road, as he drove. “You never said so.” “Not in words.” “How was I supposed to know?” He glanced at her. “I showed you…” He looked away again. “…and if you had stuck around, you would have heard it.” “The last time we were together…” “Yeah, immediately you left, I regretted not saying it back. I waited till I was sure you were home before calling, but you never picked. Then, I sent messages full of…” “Romantic nonsense.” When he cast a sharp look at her, she smiled ruefully and said quietly, “That’s what she called them.” Without looking at her, he asked, “Who?” She sighed deeply. “I told you I didn’t feel so good the last time I was at yours, remember?” He nodded. “You had come from the hospital to see me.” “I thought I had malaria and because I really wanted to see you, I didn’t wait to collect the test results.” She shrugged and continued, “I planned to sto...

“I’m so sorry, Sade.” Eyes narrowed, she shook her head, confused. “What exactly is going on, Niyi? Niyi blew out a breath with his mouth, ran his hands over his face and turned to Kunle, who was staring at Bunmi with a look of shock on his face. “Kunle.” Slowly, he turned his head to look at Niyi and his eyes narrowed. “Yes, what exactly is going on, sir?” “I am your father, Kunle. Your mother and I…” “You brought your mistress to live in my house?” He turned back to an open-mouthed Sade and shook his head quickly. “It wasn’t that way, at all. Agnes has never been my mistress. I had a brief relationship with her and that ended almost two years before you came into my life.” Still looking at his wife, he waved a hand in Kunle’s direction. “Kunle was born, as a result of that relationship.” Tears fell rapidly from her eyes and wiping them away, she whipped her head away from him. “How could you keep something like that from me, Adeniyi?” She turned back to him, tapping ...

A few hours later, in her grandmother’s living room, she wiped the tears that ran down her face, with the back of her left hand. With her right, she picked up the piece of paper on her laps and continued reading. The way he asked me how you were, anytime I came back home, from a visit to you, told me more than you ever wanted to. You may never have talked about it, but I knew he was the one. A teardrop fell on the paper. Trust me, my darling. It will be alright. Your father… She stopped reading, as memories of a night, five years ago, came rushing in. “How could you have been so stupid, Bunmi?” “Daddy, I…” She put her face in her hands and started crying. “Niyi, calm down, please.” “Calm down, Sade?” He spread his arms upwards and shook his head. “Calm down, she says!” He spun around to face her. “Where were you when your daughter was sleeping around?” Bunmi raised her head and gasped. Niyi looked at her and nodded continuously. “Yes, you must have been. Why else d...

Otunba Adeniyi Williams-Akanbi smiled at his daughter. “You used to fly into my arms after any time away. Five years is a long time, Bunmi.” She opened her mouth and shut it again.   I can’t believe the nerve of the man . “Why did you send your goons to kidnap us?” “Goons?” He started laughing. “Kidnap you?” He waved his left hand in a dismissive manner. “You’ve always had a great imagination, Bunmi.” Suddenly, he stopped laughing and spoke slowly, “A child who refuses to respect her elders will be treated like a child, no matter how old she is. I am your father and when I…” Raising her voice, she cut him off. “Five years ago, you lost all claim to that title when you…” His face tightened, but his tone remained the same. “Oluwabunmi Williams-Akanbi, I am your father and that has never changed. When I ask you to visit, you will respect me and do just that. When you refused to take my calls, you left me no choice but to force you to…” She turned, pulling the twins to t...

“Why mummy?” Jake whined. “I’m a big boy now.” “Jake, mummy said that someone could steal us, if we don’t wait for her,” Joanna said, pulling her twin back. When they started to squabble, Bunmi bit back a smile as she walked pass her children and got through the revolving door first. “Leave me alone!” “No, Jake. We have to hold hands now. Mummy said so.” “But, you’re holding me too tight, Jo!” “That’s enough, both of you,” Bunmi said sharply. “Jake, you know the drill. We all have to hold hands till we get to the car. Jo, loosen up your hold a bit, okay. The parking lot of the store they had just come of out was almost deserted and dimly lit, so she couldn’t see her son’s face clearly. But, she was certain it wore a frown now. Just like his father’s . Her mood soured and just when her thoughts were about going to the man that had fathered her children, she heard the sound of car doors being slammed shut. Turning in that direction, she saw two men get out from the ...

Some days ago, I had a really busy day and by night time, all I wanted was to send the kids off to bed and put my feet up. However, I was running a little late on their bedtime schedule and, since I didn’t want any mealtime drama, I decided on fixing them really fast food for dinner. Nwando wanted the egg sandwich I offered, while the little boss man wanted some cereal instead. Soon the sandwich was ready and immediately she took the first bite, she said, “Mummy, everything you cook is delicious. That makes me think you’re special.” I wasn’t exactly surprised by that declaration, because she says such things a lot of the time. However, because I hadn’t been expecting it, it was an awww moment for me. Grinning from ear to ear, I came to her, hugged and kissed her and was rewarded with a huge smile. Ikem was not to be outdone. He immediately stopped riding around on a tricycle and said, “Mummy, thank you for making Cerelac for me.” Since he started talking a lot clearer, ...

Growing up, I enjoyed playing Mancala aka ncho. Whenever we travelled to the village for Easter or Christmas holidays, my siblings, young uncles and aunties, cousins and I would dig holes in the ground for this. We would use pebbles specially picked for this and we would play one game after another, for hours on end. Years later, my mum bought a game of ncho for us. This was a wooden board, shaped like a tortoise and my siblings and I had lots of fun with it. When I saw this board game in a store about two months ago, I was quick to purchase it in a bid to re-create some of that fun. I told Nwando it was a family game. The sound of that, for some reason, got her excited. For a while, she reminded me that I hadn’t fulfilled my promise of teaching her. So, some weeks ago, I finally opened it. The board was plain but shiny and inside there were beautiful glass pebbles. We took the game into their room and played there. It was fun teaching her how to count her pebbles and try to...

A few mornings ago, I heard a sound alert on my phone that indicated that I had an email but I ignored it. After a while, I heard another alert, indicating that another email had just come in so I picked my phone and saw that the emails were notifications of comments on two articles on this blog. One of them was by an anonymous person and I already suspected what it would be. I was right. The anonymous comment was a spam comment, one of which I've been getting somewhat frequently, lately. Usually, links leading to phishing sites are embedded in them. Luckily, blogger recognizes them and moves them to the spam folder. Unfortunately, other times, anonymous comments that are 'clean' get moved to the same folder and I would have to move them out of that folder before they can appear on the post.

Some weeks ago, I went to a circus with my family. It promised to be an interesting experience so we all looked forward to a fun evening. By the time we got there, a few animal right activists were already stationed around the parking lots with placards that denounced ill treatment of animals. I  wasn't  bothered by that, really, because I’m not wired that way. Anyway, we took our seats and after we settled down, one of us went to get popcorn and drinks for the rest of us. One thing was certain, we  couldn't  wait for the show to start and we were not the only ones. The mood in that large tent was anticipatory as all around us, people settled in. There was a huge elephant on the stage, giving rides to kids and my adventurous Nwando  wasn't  to be left out. She asked if she could go on a ride and was thrilled when she got a ‘yes’. Off she went with her cousin while the Mister tagged along as the paparazzo.

A little over a month ago, I went on a trip with my family that involved flying for over ten hours at a stretch. Besides the fact that the flight was long, it was uneventful. Since it was already late by the time the disembarked, we spent the night in that city. Early the next morning, we had to take a flight out to get another city, where we took yet another flight to our final destination. Exhausted, I fell asleep almost immediately we boarded the last plane but was awakened, after a while, by sharp pain in my ears. This wasn't the usual strange sensation I get sometimes in my ears in airplanes and which cleared up with ear-pops when I swallowed or yawned. This felt more like there was intense pressure in ears that were blocked and that hurt a lot. As if the pain wasn't enough, my hearing started to go gradually. That was very scary. Initially, I could hear muted sounds of people chatting in the airplane but even that gradually faded till I could barely hear a thing.

“She’s so cute,” Adaora said, after cooing to the baby who nursed contentedly in her mother’s arms. She was kneeling beside Mina, who rocked on a chair as she fed her five-month old daughter. Azuka lay on her side on the king-sized bed in the middle of the nursery. “ Abeg , ‘c ute ’ is not a word that describes my god daughter accurately,” Azuka said, rubbing her belly. “She’s absolutely gorgeous! I can’t tell who she looks like just yet, though.” “ Ah ah. Why you dey talk like that? Look well, jor; Sotonye looks just like me ,” Mina said. Laughing, Adaora said, “That’s exactly what Baridi says. I think she’s a perfect blend of the both of you, jare. ” She stood and walked across the carpeted floor to join Azuka on the bed. She sat cross-legged, placing both hands on the leg that was on in the front. “Whoever she looks like doesn’t matter. She’s a beauty and she’s all mine,” Azuka said. “You keep rubbing in the fact that she’s your god daughter, this woman,” Adaora said. “M...

Whenever I send Nwando on an errand that I’m sure she can handle, and she quickly comes back to say that she couldn’t do it, I always tell her to go back to the chore and complete it. Each time that happens, she returns to the task, puts her back to it and is usually successful in the end. That always thrills her to bits. So, some time ago, I taught her to always pump a fist and say “I can!” when faced with any challenge. On rare occasions, I show her how she can effectively take care of whatever it is I have asked of her. At those times too, I get a fist pump and a victory shout from her. That means that these days, when she tells me she’s not able to do a particular thing, all I need to ask is, “Do you remember?” before her face lights up. Then, she gives a fist pump and says, “I can!” and runs off to do what I asked her to do. Yesterday, when we had such a moment, I remembered a Bible verse that had served me well on various occasions and shared it with her. Phillipians 4...

About a week ago, I noticed Ikem in their room trying to scribble on a book. He was having a hard time with it because as I quickly noticed, the lead at the tip of his pencil had broken off. I took the pencil away from him to sharpen it for him. He quickly came after me and started throwing the kind of tantrum only an almost-two-year old can pull off. Crying and stamping his feet, he insisted that I give it back. I didn't say a word to him as I continued sharpening the pencil. As soon as I was done, I gave it back to him and the crying ceased immediately. Looking at the pencil, he quickly noticed the difference, rewarded me with " tan tan " and went back to his book. There are a number of things that I am waiting for. Some of them are dreams which are really important to me so I'm excitedly looking forward to them coming to life. Others are little irritations that I can't wait to do away with. This morning, I had a reason to think about one of those impo...

Two days ago, Ikem poured a lot of baby powder all over the floor of the room I share with the Mister. Now, the floor of that room is made of shiny wood so the mess made by that was very visible. When I gave Ikem 'the eye', he gave me the cutest smile. I was having none of that so with those eyes still trained on him, I said, "Ikemsinachi, come here." Meanwhile, what is it with mothers saying a child's full name when he's in trouble? I still shudder at the memory of my mum calling out my full name. Anyway, I digress :) He ran to where I was sitting on the bed and quickly threw his arms around my waist. Next thing I heard him say was, "I wov you." Even as I was struggling not to crack a smile, Ikem started singing Barney's "I love you". I started laughing and forgave him immediately, just like I'm sure he expected me to. I was impressed as I thought of how my twenty one-month old son completely turned things around in his favou...

"I'm so mad at him right now!" Mina exclaimed, with a quick shake of her head. "When I came home from work yesterday evening, I spent a long time in the kitchen making his favourite meal and then cleaned up real nice just to get his attention. He didn't get home early and by the time he  managed to, he had the nerve to tell me that he wasn't hungry without even thinking of the amount of work I had done. I didn't even know what to say to him, really. To make matters worse, he just took a shower, turned out the lights and slept off immediately without a glance in my direction; So much for buying new lingerie to spice things up.” Rolling her eyes, she added, “Sometimes, I think that man was put on this earth just to annoy me." Azuka started laughing and at the look of irritation Mina flashed her, she raised both hands and said, "Please don't kill me with your eyes, madam. I wasn't laughing at you." Mina rolled her eyes ...