The Ramblings of A Nigerian Mom

She was shivering and sweating profusely as her hubby stood by wiping the beads of sweat off her fevered brow. Her brave clear eyes sparkled with unshed tears as she struggled to keep faith in line with the many verbal admonitions. As she had been doing for 5+ painfully long weeks. Bravely enduring the pain wracking her entire being with all the tubes passed into her, the thirst and hunger...muttering to herself at intervals...praying the pain would go away...praying she would walk out of that room to be with her baby...praying the administered drugs would work the required miracle...keeping faith... Faith...

S oftly she sways to the rhythm of the winds A s the sweetly singing birds lure with their soothing melodies F ar away in a distant land where no rancor dwells E ven as she closes her eyes in utter contentment I n, the melodious tunes beckon her battle-weary soul N o wailing could deter as she breaks free from the bonds of love T rust in the upward pull, she whispers as she floats away H olding on tight lest the singing stops and the spell breaks E scape, sweet soul..escape from the woods into eternal rest W ords, soothing but searing, brings little respite O little ones, smile at the winds and sway to the songs O ut of the woods, blissfully all will be someday D espairing not at the vain glories of the woods S afe in the woods, nobody ever is.

  Source Wondering what that escalator is doing up there? Will get to it in a second. I thoroughly enjoyed the last Easter holiday so much that I really wish I could rewind and go over it again. Been promising to take the boys to the Cinema for a while and we finally chose 'Easter Monday' of all days to visit the one at Ikeja City Mall. You also want to ask what got into me, right?

  Source   D1: ''Mummy, your tummy is super-big. There is a baby inside...'' Arghhh...not again!

Source January started on a high note in our home...until we got the sad news that our Pastor had been 'called home' after a 9-month battle with colon cancer. Terrible terrible news on a new year day. Cancer...again.

  Source   In my last post for 2014, I briefly touched on my 'brief' goal for 2015 and asked whether people still do resolutions. Have you formed yours? Of course you have. And if you haven't, it's not a matter of life and death, right? Well, 2015 has just begun though today is the 3rd day...this is the very beginning and I must say starting with the Beginning Himself is the icing on the cake, for me ni o. There are three fresh calendars in the house, one hanging in the living room, one in the bedroom and the third in the kitchen. The mental whiteboard has been wiped clean with “January 2015” screaming from every angle.

Source So Toinlicious and New Dawn would like to know 20 random facts about me and then New Dawn tagged me as her Blog Sistah . Thanks, Sweetie pies. Never knew anyone could be interested in boring ol' me.

So my 5yr old is torn between being an engineer and a medical doctor+pastor....the 'Doctoring' + 'pastoring' must go together (in his mind)... Why? Engineers fix things, doctors fix people, save people and 'heal the world' while pastors are always smartly dressed in their suits. He associates pastors with 3pc suits, he loves suits and has also come to associate wearing them with very serious occasions.

Source It was a wet evening on a narrow in-street road. There were houses on the left and more houses on the right hand side. A huge Lawma waste truck was occupying a large chunk of the narrow road to the right. An elderly woman sat behind a tray of ripe plantain just by the drainage on the left side, watching the cars wobbling along on the uneven road filled with random potholes and pockets of puddles.

* Long Rambling Alert...Read this and you get  2 for the 'price' of 1...hahaha...kinda like getting more than you bargained for...Actually started writing this post three weeks ago but it never 'saw the light of day'....until today, that is...A whole lot has happened within the last one month...a lot* Once upon a loooonng time, terrorism was a far off menace. Evils being battled by veeeeeery distant 'unlucky' countries that we only hear / read about...but now its come home to roost. Can you think of a life lesson from this? 10 years ago, I never ever imagined we would be HERE...now, in Nigeria. But we're here and it just keep getting worse. Could really be worse than it already is. I only pray it doesn't get any worse till it gets better. I read about what's going on in the Middle East and I still utter thanks to the Almighty. At least it's not that bad, yet. He still loves us, really and His grip is ever so firm on us. I just had t...

If you've been around long enough to read this post , then you would understand why I like drinking water a lot. However, I have not been able to resist the urge of taking Coca Cola at least once in a week until a friend sent me the article pasted hereafter. This is not a smear campaign in any way as I have nothing to profit from running this great brand down, but if it has to do with health, then it's pretty serious and should be handled with gravity. Plus the things I read made my intestines coil...pun intended. Seeing how much I love every one of you, I've decided to share this in my magnanimity. I'm veeery nice, right? Please be my guest.  Is this proof that Coke does not belong in you? Source Coke is the most valuable brand in history, and “Coca-Cola” is the world’s second-most recognized word after “hello.” However, the beverage itself is an absolute poison to the human metabolism. (I don't know about this one o)

As I wipe my brow and plonk down ruminating The many ways to accomplish the many tasks ahead The door flew open and in waltzed a stranger panting A very familiar pretty young face to behold Have we by any chance met somewhere? The lines of her face much resembled mine Her nose, cheekbones and the turn of the mouth Much like mine though her garbs speak of another clime Her physique quite like mine turned south Now I am sure I've met her before. She sits uninvited opposite me,  This familiar stranger regarding me with accusing eyes As she silently sends her queries to my mind so dim And for a brief moment, we are united albeit still shy Our bodies are two, yet become one in mind She asks, what had become of the lofty dreams? The fantasies we wove together in glee? Contemplating as I gaze upwards at the bright beams What does this stranger want from me now I am free? Many questions dancing on the tips of her lips She continues, what had become ...

Source So I had another post entirely lined up for today but just had to change directions. Have you ever come close to death before? I mean stare down the deep dark abyss and bounce back? How did you feel? Jitters? Shivers? Shitty?

Source Dear Mum, It's exactly 10 years since you transitioned to the great beyond. TEN years! How time flies. Time heals every wound they say, but they lie. Big time. Or maybe this wound is just too big, the pain too poignant for time to deal with.

Source This post isn't really a post, just a few lines to say hi...I'm still around...and to say sorry for absconding without leave for a month...no excuse...well there's an excuse actually. Can't believe its one month since I posted here last. Imagine that. Wish I could say I won't stay away for that long anymore but we shall see. (The next two months promises to be hectic) Really missed this space and all the lovely people that makes the blogosphere a lovely place to 'live' in, for me. The past few weeks have been really busy for me...you know how it gets sometimes, but hey..that's LIFE. Can't complain now, can I? Been fully occupied with stuffs. Went back to work after my 2 months leave (yes, two months away from work, working on my dissertation which is still not completed). *sigh* Still not back fully so the posts are going to be coming in trickles. So, till I manage to come around again...manage this post that is not a post for...

Image Source I had a good laugh last night, you know the kind of laughter that emanates from the deepest part of the belly.  Wasn't even reading or watching any comic show,  here's why: Amidst my kitchen busyness trying to get dinner ready,  I overheard the Hubby and D2 in a funny exchange of sorts.

Was reading the Daily Mail a couple of months back when I came across this headline about women and their beauty.   According to a 'recent survey' published in the Daily Mail sometimes in February, men are most confident in bed between ages of 50 and 69 while women experience their sexual confidence between age 18 and 29  It was concluded that women’s beauty and sexual confidence peak at 29, meaning that a woman literally starts the downward plunge where beauty is concerned on reaching that milestone.

Appreciation for the many little things we often take for granted...like having food to put in our tummy before hitting the bed, Sleeping undisturbed through the night, waking up 'peacefully' when we feel like, stretching our limbs and having them oblige gracefully, walking, talking, breathing unaided, having food in the fridge, money in the purse, additional money in the bank, a job to go to, hobby to enjoy, a family to love, friends, shelter over your head, means to access good healthcare, etc. Those are just a tiny fraction of the daily blessings we enjoy.

Source   I couldn't help 'oohing' and 'awwing' at these absolutely adorable and heartwarming pictures and I just had to share here.

Source Definition of terms (for non-Nigerians) Amala : Thick brown dough / paste made from grinded yam flour Ewedu: Leafy green vegetable, blended and made into draw soup Ogufe: Goat meat Buka: Mini cafeteria (Noisy, open, somewhat neat, ''airy'' etc) Canteen: Midi cafeteria (Sometimes noisy, neater, a bit open, etc etc) Restaurant: Maxi cafeteria (A bit cool, a bit organized, neat, enclosed, etc etc etc)