This might make me seem like a bad uncle, but i just discovered that my niece will be going to high school next year. I still am trying to wrap my head around it because in my heart she is still my baby/daughter. It seems like yesterday when she moved in with us from Liberia. We (well except my mom) could barely hear a thing she said because her accent was so different. Now, she sounds like a typical Nigerian girl.
I am also amazed at how fast my youngest sister is growing as well. She is not my little baby anymore, sadly. She is growing into a fine young woman and very soon would be off to college. This is someone I literally raised. I am the closest thing to a father figure in her life. "they grow up too fast."
There aren’t so many things that gladden my heart than seeing my siblings grow. The dynamics in our relationship are also changing and I love it. It brings me great joy seeing them grow their own personality. I believe I have done a nice job with my mother in raising them, and I believe my father will be proud of me given how well i have managed his household.
When I lost my dad in 2018, I felt, in that instance that everything was over for my family. He was the sole breadwinner. I was a spoilt daddy’s boy who had never done anything productive. All my dreams and aspiration were tied to my dad’s promise, and when he was gone all i had dreamt of becoming went with him.
It might sound like a horrible thing to say, but in retrospect, I think my dad had to go in other for me to become the man i am today. I am not nearly perfect. My fuckups are numerous (they are new every morning). Nevertheless, I am proud of the man I have become—a responsible man.
No one thought I had it in me to pick up from where my father left. To be frank I did not believe in myself. I had barely survived uni; I was unemployed with 3 siblings and a mother to cater for, what magic was i supposed to perform? It was really a dark time in my life and the only people i could turn to was myself and God. That was more than enough.
Things might not be so great now but they are far more better than they were years ago. I feel eternally grateful to God for taking me through that phase in my life. I am still on that journey and I have every confidence in my heart that I will scale through. There are basically two important things I need to achieve to make my joy complete and i believe they will come to fruition soonest.
Coming back home reminds me of my humble beginnings. It reminds me of hope and all the beautiful things I have accomplished. I passed the most important test in my life thus far, which makes every other challenge secondary. Coming back home means coming back to safety. I am with the people i love and trust the most in this world. There is love here.
