The Good Life

Once had a neighbour whose husband always had something to say about his pregnant wife. Becoming too fat, too slow, annoying, too lazy, always lying down, always tired, always eating, always making demands, too emotional... He really had only unpleasant things to say and could careless. One beautiful day, labour pains. Before you know it, a day, two, Going into the third, her husband began to panic, cry, worry and fear. Desperation written all over him, he began calling everyone he could for help and prayers. Especially after some women who went into labour alongside his wife lost their lives. Suddenly he began to have glimpses of his life without his wife, Began to see all the roles she filled in his life and how much she meant to him. Another woman in labour dies and by this time, he's made a million promises to God. And yes, it took God's intervention for his wife to deliver and both mother and child return home safely. Today, he's the most appreciative. It...

A Pregnant woman doesn't fight. When you know what you carry and what you are expecting , there are battles and issues you just ignore.                                   Pst Jerry Eze This life is full of battles, challenges, ups and down however, we ought to be wise enough to choose our battles. We will surely and quickly exhaust ourselves if we're to become engaged in every fight were we are mentioned. Sometimes the best of solution to challenges is nothing but silence. Silence is really under-estimated; with this, your opponent will be information deprived and clueless about your next move.   Let's focus on carrying our dreams to maturity as well as it's birthing. When we're focused, the barks and threats of our opponents will amount to nothing, rather we'd be producers of rests.

The worst thing to loose when things fail is one's hope. Hope is the believe that better lies ahead, that your present is not your best neither is it your end. Hope, is the fire that lights your heart when it doesn't look like it, the light that burns your passion. A man whose hope is lost when things go wrong and he experiences any failure is halfway defeated. A man whose hope is lost is an easy prey to be consumed by life. In all you do never loose hope. If you have hope, you can begin again to rebuild whatever you've lost, you heal faster, your bounce back, stronger and your aim better.

'Mummy here's my homework, i need help' my son said as he passed me his books. Well, what's the biggie with Grade 2 take home assignments? Wouldn't amount to much i thought, as i began flipping through the pages of his books. It was a sight that met my eyes as i began reading through his assignments. Lengthy write ups at the end of which he was expected  to provide answers to some questions? How about definitions he was told to write? How was a boy of 4 years expected to copy definitions from the blackboard? Decided to browse through his younger sister's homework as well, and was met with the same thing. How do schools set up curriculum  for kids that are way higher than their age and comprehension can take? What parameters do these schools use  when setting up their curriculum? Do we just go about forcing our kids to cram things and dread studying or find interest as well as gain knowledge as they engage in their studies? Seems we are beginning to m...

Dear Lord, why did this woman come into the kitchen now? I'm putting on a smile and nodding at intervals like a lizard My mind has willed her to leave a million times but it seems this is one of  those times she wants to sit in the kitchen and gist. I smile again and right  now, I'm sure she's wondering why i haven't said anything. I make sounds and grunt to make her believe i'm involved in the conversation but in all honesty every word is going in one ear and leaving from the next. I keep trying to maintain my composure but it's getting harder with every second. So i turn to my maker and pray 'Baba God, please answer me this one time and i promise to be of every good behaviour henceforth. I'd not just be good but the best girl ever. Just send my Mum away from the kitchen'. The heavens heard me and somehow, Mum decided to step out of the kitchen for a bit. Ohhhhhhh goodness! The speed with which i emptied the  stolen content of my mouth w...

There was only one thing that could make sense to me right now; fooooooddddd and a quick one at that. Seeeeee eh, i don't understand why people can't be time conscious. Today being the last Saturday has always been set aside for church thanksgiving and dedication. We already know this usually is a long service but simple offering and benediction, Brother Timothy didn't want to stop. He went from one rhema exposition to another  and another. But for the fact that i am a well known face in church, i would've absconded before the close of today's service. I was seeing angels by the time i got home and i needed a quick fix more that i needed oxygen. Like the saviour it truly is, my ever faithful and loving friend 'GARRI' showed up. The minute my wonderful companion came into light, hunger fled away. Garri has been a very powerful life saver from before the foundations of everything. It's quick to fix, affordable, life elongating and addictive. Ev...

Natural beauty, hot choco-milk and as perfectly described by Queen B 'Brown skin girl'. It's not a thing of pride, I'm just hot like that; fashioned with the best of God's materials. So i decided to spice things up a little at home. Hubby was returning home from a trip so i decided to do some makeover and a little  brushing up. It is said that nothing good comes easy therefore, i endured the kids whine and scream leading to mistakes; scrapped nails, some had to be refixed, a few cuts, but beauty is pain right? Nails and lashes fixed, i felt on top of the world. I was determined to be at my hottest when hubby arrived. My daughter kept throwing weird looks at me. She was seeing me fix my lashes for the first time. Three hours later i was opening the door to hubby with one lash gone, two broken nails and my kids laughing while my daughter was still attempting to remove the second lash. 😂😂😂. I was looking more like a scare crow than a fashionably hot wife...

Why are you staring down your nose at me? It isn't like this strategy is a new thing Come off it jor, we've all done it at one point or the other. Some of us are even living this method. Well, it's not really my fault You know how it is with men; they sure love a good massaging and pampering so, why not? If that's the route to getting me what i want. Here i am sitting across hubby when i go 'Sweetness can we take a stroll? It sure is a beautiful evening, the kids have been bathed and fed, and i get to have a little alone time with you'. 'Why not?' He says with his face lit up. I smile coyly like all them girls do on tv when they hit it. Three minutes into the walk and we're getting to the joint, i say 'Baby, would you love some barbecue  chicken? Let me spoil you a little'. So i drag Bobo all smiles into joint. Well, as you can see, right now, peppered chicken in one hand and a very chilled hollandia to step it down. I'm relax...

Whhhhhhaaaaaatttt! Jesus had done it again, turning water into wine! Brother Joe exclaimed the minute he sighted his pastor walking towards him. Brother Joe was a very serious and committed member of the church. So serious that he was put in charge of the prayer team. It was a very important and sensitive position and unanimously everyone voted him in. He was dedicated, never missed any program in church, even his appearance was holy. So shocked was Pastor when he happened upon Brother Joe. So many people live double lives. Today they're this, next tomorrow they're that. Dual personalities, you can't tell who they really are. Fear fear oh. What will it cost people to stay genuine? Some claim relationships with persons they don't know, Others claim to have properties as well as businesses or investments they  don't have. Living fake lives to oppress or intimidate when nobody cares and someday they'd be discovered as the frauds that they are. Truth cos...

Ever remembered a chore you deliberately forgot and then go 'Ohhhhhhhhh Lord!' You've been putting it off since forever, hoping that somehow hours later when you stumble upon it, your fairy god-mother would've fixed it? Hours later, and a thousand wishes after, the chores are there staring you in the face You've even walked past four times going on the fifth before you finally summon the courage and attack the chore. I excel at other chores but i'm particularly lazy when it comes to doing laundry, so i found every excuse to avoid doing it unless i had to. I'd rather source the chore out to a drycleaner. Salvation found me when hubby took pity on me and bought me a washing machine. Thanks to that, i now do the family washing without giving it a second thought. My younger sis would give anything to escape doing the dishes. I enjoyed the chore so in exchange i got large chunks of meat, sizeable portion of meals, cash, and a host of other favours fro...

Final benefiction; i was already looking forward to my second helping of the delicious fried rice Mum made because i had already eaten the first in my mind while sitted in church. Hot spicy sunday jollof rice garnished with enough fried meat and fish and ohhhhhhhhh, not forgetting the zobo chilling in the fridge. It sure was a promising Sunday until i heard the announcement repeated 'Youth, wait behind for a brief meeting'. Brief meeting indeed. Last time that's how we waited in church for two hours plus and here they are again with the claims of another brief meeting.  Anyway, i needed a way of escape. So here i was doing my calculations when i heard my name 'Sister Chioma pray for us'. Well, by my timing, we're two hours gone again. Father in heaven, i should've joined Sharon when she snuck out. Seee ehhhhhh if that rice and zobo finishes at home hmmmmmm, this our Presido no go like me again oh.

' Madam march am. Fire! Fire!! Fire am well well Oya off am. On am again, Fire! Fire!!' We were 20 minutes into this merry go round and honestly i was thinking of what to do to this car to make it feel the amount of pain it was making me feel. 'Madam you sure say you dey hear anu sound? E never tey wey oga bring this car make i service. You know wetin we go do? Just go back eh, if the sound continue again tomorrow, bring the car come na him i go focus do tomorrow'. Here i was after calling the mechanic the day before to complain of a very nasty sound from the car. Made the appointment, cancelled my activities for the day and left pretty early as we lived in Ebonyi but our mechanic workshop was in Enugu; which simply meant 1-2 hours of transit. Hubby usually took care of servicing our cars but since he was away on work trip, i decided to just go fic whatever was wrong. The mechanic did try everything including driving at a crazy speed but the green snake pret...

It was with the totality of everything in her termed 'control', that kept Tess from doubling over with laughter as Jeff went on and on. Encouraged by her occasional smile, Jeff truly felt he had hit jackpot.  There was no look of boredom or disappointment nor was there irritation or mockery on her face. Jeff could only thank his lucky stars. It took almost six months of self motivation, consistent jabs from his friends and finally his burst of jealousy when he saw Tess hug Kario for him to summon the courage he needed to profess his love to her. One day, Jeff boarded a bus after visiting Mike his friend. That was how providence smiled upon him and brought a book seller to market his books in the bus. Jeff's interest was immediately captured when he saw the book 'How to win her'.  This was definitely the answer to hid prayers as he had been consumed with thoughts of how to communicate his feelings to Tess. This book was the answer to it all. And to think ...

'Pray without ceasing' So says the scriptures right? Ohhhhhh yeah! Spending the holiday with my parents has been one roller coaster, the endless prayers, being the biggest highlight. We were having a relaxed evening, free flowing conversations, jests, laughter, endless stories amongst us, one thing led to another when in the middle of a story from one of my brothers, my mother began singing warfare songs and before you know it, we were thirty minutes gone and counting. How about the nights we had already retired for bed and calls come in from a  church member in panic or spilling problems and my parents would have to run to that person's house, hospital or spend endless hours on the phone. Not forgetting times when we hadn't paid our fees but my parents were paying fees of members? How about times we had to give out our last meal smiling or spending our last cash to support members. And the days of housing and fending for so many families, some showing up at...

'Ohhhhhh boy! Look at his wine collection. It's so cool. Can we ask for one?' I whispered to hubby with so much awe in my voice. Hahahaha Hahahaha The joke was on me. Hubby laughed so hard his cheeks and stomach must've been hurting pretty bad when he told me in between fits of laughter 'Baby, those bottles are empty. He just decorates his room with it. This has been his practice since our university days. Experienced the same bubble burst when i flew to my cousin's dressing table to take one of the bottle of perfumes she had arranged, only to find they were all empty except for one. I'm yet to understand the logic behind the idea of people still having in their possession empty cans of things they've used. Maybe some have sentimental attachments to some of those cans, some i suppose might be to remember the name of the product i believe. However, this cuts across as really funny and the let down one experiences from believing that what one s...

Had to rush hubby to the hospital because he was in excruciating pains. Prior to this time, he traveled to the East and was knocked down by malaria so he went to a pharmacy where some drugs were prescribed to him. The second day into the drugs, he had developed boils all over his body. Very painful oned at that. Of course he discontinued the medication but the deed was done. On arrival to the hospital, it was diagonised hubby was reacting to fake drugs he took. The treatment for this reaction cost us three times the amount of treating the primary illness. IMAGINE! Three weeks ago, a two storey building around my area collapsed due to the use of sub-standard materials in building the house. This menance of cutting corners so as to spend less and maximize profit has been a deep societal menance. We've so lost our humanity that we could care less about those who are at the receiving end of whatever it is we render; good or services. So many have died or developed very seri...

'Chioma,come and carry your kids. I want to rest oh!' I gave a sweet laugh and responded 'Aren't they your grand kids? If you didn't have them you'd have been engaging the heavens in battle and fasting. Ohhhhh how my Dad sighed and of course, the kids didn't relent as they kept jumping all over their Grandpa. It's common knowledge to everyone who knows us that my kids are hyper hyper-active. Everywhere we go, it takes only minutes for people to notice our presence due to the hyper active nature of the kids; from the school, to church, malls, outings... It's funny how people see their pictures and go awwwwwww then become worn out in minutes of meeting them live. On the flip side, the kids get us recognized, instantly attended to, favoured, popular and loved. After heaving and sighing, not to mention my Daddy murmuring about how he misses his peace and quiet, i overheard him whispering to Mum about how the house was no longer dull but extra...

'Mummy, Mummy, come and feed me.  Mummy carry me. Mummy hold my hand. Hug, hug Mummy' These and many more my kids always screamed at me. It really was quite an exhausting experience, going from one chore to another, fixing breakfast, diapers, cleaning up, bathing, dressing up... 'Leave me alone Mummy'. D said after i got tired of chasing him round the room in order to dress him. I suddenly realized that slowly, without knowing, my kids were beginning to outgrow my every little assistance. Now they want to dress, feed, bathe themselves.  I didn't know how to feel about it when the realization dawned on me today. We're so prepared going round the circles of those little little everyday duties and unprepared for the one day we'd wake up to hear 'No Mummy/Daddy, i can do it myself'. Suddenly autumn comes and all we have are the memories. Let's make the most of the precious times we have, tiring as it may be cause our Angels won't rema...

Ring Ring! Ring Ring!! Ring Ring!!! 'Hello, Babe get dressed. There's something I'd love to show you. I'd be there home in 20 minutes so please start dressing up'. What did Chioma do? Tuck herself deeper in her duvet and went back to sleep until the sound of hubby's horn got me sitting bolt up. I always complained about hubby and i not doing alot of fun stuffs so he began coming up with loads of suggestions but somehow, i found a way to squash every idea that involved going out. I'd whine and cry but back out whenever the time came to go out. Well, this time, hubby was not having it. He stayed on my tail until i had my shower, got dressed and he bundled me out albeit my reluctance to leave my comfy comfy fluffy bed. However,once out the door, it was from one fun activity to the other and what a swell time it was, spending an alone time with hubby without the kids. The fact that i love stay indoors doesn't mean i also do not love a good dose o...

Ohhhhhh Lord! I'm rolling on the floor and having myself a crazy good laugh. Remember growing up as kids, whenever we wanted to get anything outside what our parents originally planned giving us, or whenever we craved for a different menu, we sent our last born to go cry to our mum claiming that he wanted those things. Ohhhhhhhh how this trick worked wonders! From snacks to change of menu and everything we could get him to cry about. Of course we never got them all, but we got most of our requests. Well, my family and i went visiting my parents to spend the holiday period with them. After service today, our last born wanted to buy something to eat and didn't have the cash for it so he decided to use my son and this was how it went down: Uncle F: D come. Go and hug Grandma, then tell her you're hungry and you want to buy... D:Ok. Runs off to meet his Grandma D: Grandma, Uncle F said that he wants to eat... 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂. Well, just know that we've all be...

It had rained a great deal this morning and as is a given in most of Nigerian roads, the road my Dad and i were plying wasn't only bad but muddy so everyone was driving carefully and dodging potholes as best as we could. Dad was trying to negotiate around a pothole when a keke driver coming opposite us practically flew to stop in front of us. In less than a minute, we already had cars behind us and in no time the traffic blocked the road. Nobody was going forward or backward. No one was moving. We were all stuck. The gridlock came to be just because a man chose to be inhumane. We sat in that gridlock for hours before it finally got resolved. Why do we sometimes display some level of inhumanity that is not only weird but funny and won't cost us anything. Like allowing an elderly,pregnant or ill person to use the atm before us, allowing a person to drive past a bump before you, letting someone out the door before you... As we go out today, yes, we may be in the right ...

I had become a shadow of myself. Gradually, i metamorphosized into a lady i couldn't recognize. The cruel words The lack of attention Swallowing everything just to please him and remain termed as 'the good girl'. I convinced myself and resigned to fate that it was best to just stay put in the relationship because one never knew what was out there. Five years later i stumble into him and there he was bragging about the car he just bought. Hahahaha, well well well, i smiled and was happy and went home thanking God for the strength to have left that hell of a relationship and choosing me. The said car model he just bought happened to the same one hubby used in teaching me how to drive and there i was with my brand new third ride. Oh yes, true happiness isn't based upon material things but then, materially, emotionally and otherwise i was beyond happy. That encounter made me appreciate myself more, my new life more, my hubby more, my kids and everything i had. S...

With a sweet smile on her rubby chubby face, Mum called me into the kitchen and showed me the ingredients on the kitchen counter. Hmmmmmmmmm maggi, salt, pepper, curry, thyme. Ok? I turned around to her 'Mummy, where are the remaining ingredients? I asked 'That's it Dear, i even grinded the pepper for you' she replied. 'But Mummy, it's fried rice we're supposed to be making' i almost screamed. Well, my daughter pulled my arm and said 'Mummy cook Grandma style'. Grandma's style was simple; every meal is what you imagine it to be so long as there was maggi and salt. Remember traveling to the village and having Grandma make you meals and all you see is pot, water, maggi and salt? Few minutes later, they smile at you and present you with a meal only the Angels knows how it came about. It's  cooking in the Grandma way.

Was watching AY LIVE 2021 when Real Warri Pikin called up a friend to the podium to thank her.  Why? The year before, she was in a very bad place and was also in a fix financially. This friend took it upon herself to always send Warri Pikin a certain amount of money monthly, for her and her family's upkeep. A year later, Warri Pikin was now in a better place, with fame and fortune. You go out and come in and everyone is singing your praise? Lol wait for it! The true test of how much you're loved is when those singing your praise today are still standing besides you when the rains come. Don't get so carried away with those praise songs and singers. Give everything time. Don't be shocked to find yourself standing alone when the going gets tough. The test will show you those who are true.

'Why is the generator still on? Can't you see there's light?' He bellowed. 'I didn't know they had brought the light' His wife responded. 'Of course! How will you know when you're not the one buying the fuel'. On and on the man went until the ears of everyone in my house was quite full. This was yesterday's episode from my neighbour. We've heard this saying so many times 'Marry who you'd build with' and most times just waive it aside. However, for every relationship each partner must have something they contribute. This is a fact irrespective of our bias or how we choose to weigh it.  The contribution varies and is peculiar to every relationship. To some it might be giving up your career for awhile to become the caretaker of the kids, to others it could be taking on an extra job to raise more cash and to another it might be cutting down on work so as to spend more time with the family. Contributions to relationship...

True love comes in different shades and flavours. Love comes with the roses Love comes with dancing in the rain Love also comes with responsibilities One of that responsibility include speaking the hard truth in love. How do you watch a person you love spiral down dark tunnels of bad decisions, little or zero motivations, no accountability, loss of goals and visions... Love includes making those tough decisions of saying what needs to be said. We mostly keep quite and watch with the excuse of 'I don't want anybody to call me enemy of progress or i don't want anybody to say i'm interfering in their life'. How about making the effort and living with the peace of mind that whatever the outcome we know we did our best?

'It's not possible! It's best you forget that idea as soon as you possible can because i can't help you' Mum said as she quickly walked away. She didn't hesitate for a second and wasn't interested in any other thing i had to say. This was quite a blow, a major setback for what i wanted to do. Couldn't let Mum close up like that so i thought hard and fast and surprise surprise, i got a quick and sweet idea. The aroma was strong and appetizing. Mum walked into the kitchen smiling and salivating, asking 'what's going on here?' Well, well, this was my own kinda venison; yam porridge with lots  dryfish and vegetable. Mum has always been a crazy lover of yam as well as dryfish. So she ate to her heart's content and didn't bat an eyelid as i made my request a second time. I got what i wanted on a platter. Everybody has got that soft spot they respond to whenever it is tapped. That thing that can make you give your all just becaus...

12:00am Ratatata kakaka kikiki kukukuku And the neighbourhood was on fire again. Amaka's voice was enough to launch everyone into a sleepless night again. Her prayers like stray bullets were bouncing off in every direction, accompanied with screams and  some crazy form of theatrics. Amaka was a powerful prayer machine. The heavenly Angels already know her voice has The gates of hell surely has nothing on her. However, there was nothing to show for it as Amaka was practically living from hand to mouth. Her believe was simple 'All one needed was to pray, pray some more and pray even harder.  Her subsequent routine was to pray then spend the remainder of the day sleeping, eating and resting. Hahaha, just like Amaka, everyone wants to pray and read God a long list of what he ought to do for them, then go back to do nothing as though he's a request answering genie. After screaming in prayer houses, sowing seeds from prophet to prophet, sleeping in church for all acti...

One minute i was lost on the net, next minute i was surrounded by thick clouds of smoke and coughing out my lungs. How i got here, i possibly couldn't understand. It had indeed been a long at work and all i wanted was a hot bathe, quick meal and capital letter sleep. I had achieved the bathing part and was on the quick meal stage when it came into my thought 'Why not kill two birds with one stone?' So i decided to surf the net for some informations i needed to complete a task at work such that by the time my meal would be getting ready, I'd have gotten the resources i needed and it would've been off to bed faster. Well, that was the last i remembered. I got lost in the black hole called internet. From sourcing materials to reading some serious news and next thing i was laughing my head off. Couldn't tell how long i spent on my phone, but it was long enough to turn my dinner into a black toast. Combine tiredness, hunger and a subsequent manifestation ...

The minute i saw their calls coming in, i already knew why they were calling. From top to bottom ohhhh The calls kept coming in. Wanna know why? No, it wasn't that i was sorely missed, neither was it because they had gifts for me. It wasn't an emergency either  Rather it was that time of the month again. The last/first week of the month is a crazy time for salary earners (civil servants). It's the time when the phones of civil servants receive calls non-stop from friends, fans, debtors, siblings, lovers, rivals, parents and more. Therefore the minute i saw the calls coming in, i didn't need to be told why. Certainly this is a plague suffered by every civil servant, although it's not peculiar to them, as every bread winner is afflicted in one way or the other. Well, my younger brother resorted to sending an sms which read       'Big Sis, freshest mama, the one         Who takes special care of me,          ...