Favorite Things - Family

So family…

My family was made up of my dad, mum, younger sister and brother until we lost my dad 8 yrs ago.

The last time my dad and I saw, he told me to make sure to take care of my family when he died. That no matter what happened, family was the most important thing and I should never let anything separate us. I basically told him to shut up…lol… If I’d known he knew what he was talking about, maybe I’d have been more compassionate…lol.

I’ve been through a whole lot in the past couple of years, more than most people know and I wouldn’t be where I am today without the three of them. So yes, family IS the most important thing

So basically, my mum and I have a three-fold relationship. She’s my mum, co-parent, friend. I really had to grow up fast. Moving back home was a battle. I’d been away from home for five years. Adjusting to not having my dad around was one of the hardest things, especially since I was known as my daddy’s baby. Now my mum and I have come to adjust to the new dynamic of our relationship. It took a lot of arguments and tears to get here.

So now I’m both a parent and a big sister to my siblings. It has taken me a while to figure out when to wear which hat. But sometimes, both hats merge like when it comes to girlfriends/ boyfriends… The thought just kills me, because of course no girl or guy is good enough for my brother or sister. I’m sure eventually I’ll get over that. My brother on the other hand would be happy with any guy that showed up and paid dowry to him.

Then there are my god babies. My goddaughter is 8 years old and my godson is a year. My goddaughter is my little princess. She loves anything Disney princesses. So of course, being the type of godmother, I’ve spoiled her with every Disney princess outfit. But now like every pre-teen, she’d added Hannah Montana and High School Musical to her favourites. Now she talks about Troy, how he’s cute and how she loves him and is going to marry him. Lord have mercy. My godson on the other hand is just a rambunctious tyrant. He terrorises everyone especially his parents. He’s gong through this biting phase now, he just bites everyone for no reason. Mealtimes are a battle for him and his mum. Everytime I’ve fed him though, he eats all his food. I guess, I’m not as affected by his tears as his mum is and he knows that…lol. But I’ve love d watching him grow and do new things. He’s started school now…so proud…sniff, sniff.

Talking about family, mums and tears. My friend and her son came home from the hospital for the first time yesterday. Some old lady from her mum’s side came over to bathe and massage her and the baby. Apparently, it’s a Yoruba thing. So first up was the baby. She put palm oil all over his body. This was to help remove all the dried blood and nasty stuff that babies come out of the womb with. Then it was followed up with a bath with black soap and koin-koin (that rough sponge grandmas brought from the village). Once they were done, he surprisingly looked a lot cuter and slept hard. I’m guessing all the crying tired him out and being his first bath in three days he must have felt a lot of relief. That was Phase 1. Then she massaged him with a washcloth dipped in hot water. She put his arms and legs to his back to help flexibility. She said it helps the girls put on their bras…lol. She then moved on to throwing him up, down, upside down and sideways. The whole time the boy would cry, sleep, cry, sleep. Whenever he cried you could tell it was hurting the parents, the rest of us were just enjoying the spectacle. Finally, he was done, dressed and placed in his cot. It was then my friends turn. I won’t really go into much detail on hers so I can keep this blog PG rated. She was massaged with hot water and mentholatum so the milk would flow and her stomach was massaged to ease the passing of the leftover blood clots in the womb. It was obviously really painful. For her to have gone through labour and STILL cry, it must have been painful.

Do you know the psycho thing though? In the midst of all the pain and the tears, I couldn’t help anticipating when it’d be my turn. I went home and narrated the whole story to my mum and asked which woman from the village would come to do mine…she said she was more than capable to do it. So, here I am excited about when I’d go through labour, have my babies and get massaged…lol. Psycho, I know….

Even though I love my mum, siblings, nephews, nieces and god babies to death, I’m still very eager to start my own family, my own brood like Angelina Jolie. Have my own house, with a big ol’ kitchen and backyard with swing sets and a pool. I’ve even played round with the thought of adopting as I’m not getting any younger and STILL as single as ever. That brings us to my next favourite thing instalment – six packs and biceps.

See y’all tomorrow…