Home Alone!
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I remember this 1990 Family Comedy Movie series about an 8-year old boy who was accidentally left at home by his family as they went to France for the Holidays.
Hehe 😂
But this time, I intentionally decided to be "left at home" having weighed all the pros and cons at this point in time.
I cherish moments with my Family but at the same time, I cherish personal time a lot.
So for this year, the desire for personal time got the better part of me.
When I shared with my siblings that I wouldn't be travelling home for the Christmas break, they initially thought it was one of my numerous jokes😂
Little did they know that I was dead serious.
My parents are based in Lagos but I schooled in Ibadan and I've been here for 9 years now.
That's almost a decade! 😲
I bet it's more than enough time to develop attachment to the place.
After graduation I moved to my elder brother's flat and once in a while, I have my younger sister come over to stay with us too. (She also schooled in Ibadan)
So it's more of a home away from home.
Why I chose to be home alone?
This year came with a lot of surprises that I would say I wasn't prepared for.
Especially the first 3-6 months of the year.
I was in and out of a tertiary hospital for the first 3 months of the year because of my mom's health.
It was a really trying period for me.
Probably because I am a doctor and I saw mum battle with her life for those months.
It's a different thing to take care of a sick stranger and another thing to take care of one's sick mom as a doctor.
It nearly broke me.
Right in the middle of that, my certificate of graduation from my university was delayed. And by the time mine was available they made an error in the spelling of my name.
This meant I needed to wait again for a correction of the name.
That took them another set of months.
Thankfully, I was able to speak to a representative of MDCN (our regulatory body for Medical doctors in Nigeria) and I was able to get my provisional license without the corrected Certificate.
As this was a rate limiting step to progress for the compulsory 1 year NYSC.
I had initially planned to have my NYSC done in Ibadan because my mum was still receiving treatment and I wanted to be around to help.
To my shocking surprise, it didn't work and so I had to leave her in the hands of my brother to start my service year in another state with the hope that I would be able to relocate as soon as possible.
I tried everything possible to relocate but all efforts proved abortive.
Midway into the year 2024, I almost slipped into depression.
As It honestly looked like everything was working against me.
I'm glad I decided to take the bull by the horn and thank God for everything instead.
That changed my whole perspective and I decided to be grateful for life, both the good and the seemingly bad.
I usually had just one weekend free every month in my PPA.
This means I went to work everyday including public holidays.
I would usually use those weekends to travel home to see my mum and family. Leaving me with little time for rest and self recreation.
So as the year drew to an end, I made a commitment to prioritise myself.
I know 2025 is a great year with beautiful things in store for me.
So I want to go into the year better prepared, Mentally, Physically, Spiritually and even Financially.
This is why I decided to be home alone.
Even though I miss the warmth of having my siblings and parents with me, I think I am better of been alone at this time.
I spoke with them via video call for more than an hour too.
I also sent my family Fruits and Yoghurt to enjoy during the holidays.
So not being at home physically didn't stop me from giving the the healthy treat I would normally give them.
Being alone has afforded me time to pause and think and also time to rest.
I have also had the opportunity to sell my products this season keeping to my word that I would ensure to not just spend money in December but to make more money.
Thank you for reading today.
Merry Christmas and I wish you a Happy New year in advance.
