It’s been a potpourri of sorts in recent weeks and I will try and get in as much as my brain (which is no more as trust worthy as it used to be back in the day) would recollect.
A few days ago, we stayed glued to the TV networks and surfed online while the International Olympic Committee holed up in Copenhagen, Denmark as politicians, technocrats, veteran athletes, investors and more, lobbied, campaigned, negotiated and ‘traded horses’ as Chicago, Tokyo, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro battled to be named the host city for the 2016 summer Olympic games.
Rio beat out the other (some would say equally fit) cities for the prize; and so come 2016, the world would converge for the first Olympic games in South America; in Rio de Janeiro. A city famous for its natural settings, its carnival celebrations, samba and other music, and hotel-lined tourist beaches, such as Copacabana for the summer Olympic games. If you are wondering what this has to do with my blog, I’d say hold your horses. A few sour grapes have come up wondering why Rio with its well documented accounts of crime and ‘street children’ got the nod. To that I ask which of the contesting cities is crime free? Definitely not Chicago which just last week witnessed the beating death of a 16 year old boy in broad daylight on the way home from school by wait for it – youths of the same age range. Derion Albert was not felled by a stray bullet but literally clubbed to death by other young fellows wielding baseball bats and (as captured on cell phone videos ) 2inches X 4inches wooden planks. Let’s stop for a second and put this in perspective. The chilling savage encounter was recorded by teenagers and we are yet to see any evidence of any of the witnesses intervening to stop the mob as they carried out this dastardly act. I have children in the same age range as Derion and I have looked at my Sampi, Danju and Papa since then wondering if I am doing all that can be done to ensure they never, I repeat, never fall foul of such heinous crime. Have we all suddenly become monsters without the proverbial milk of human kindness? Are we as parents raising murderers and miscreants under our roofs? Please don’t tell me it’s an American problem. There are enough stories to show the issue of misguided teenagers is assuming epidemic proportions globally. We hear of 13 year old fathers in the UK. Kids who are barely out of their diapers becoming parents themselves. Teenage pregnancies in every neighbourhood and in every economic stratum. Don’t get me wrong, I am aware of the impact of various negatives and the wrong side of technology but where are parents and parenthood in all of this? Have we all become absentees and are blinded by the rush for ‘gold’. I was speaking with the principal of a recognized model school in Hartford, USA, and he talked of a chorus to get men back in the homes. Isn’t it a mark of crass selfishness to engage in activities that will result in the arrival of a child knowing well ahead of time that you were ill prepared in all parameters to meet your obligations and to raise that child right. Let us love and take adequate care of our kids please. I see this as an obligation. If you were wondering what my musings about the Olympic games have to do with this blog, I hope I have not failed you. As I ponder where the family unit is heading, I am jolted by the carnage wrecked by the tsunami of last week in Samoa, American Samoa and Indonesia. As if that was not enough in a week of potpourri of events, we are told of mudslides in Sicily, Italy. Again I try to get my head round the loss of young lives and once again I look at my Sampi, Danju and Papa. God please protect them and give us parents the wisdom to do what is right and to raise our children right. Danju has an indoor volleyball practice at 7pm tonight and I need to get ready to drive him there. So thanks again for spending your time catching up with the Diary of a loving daddy, and come back soon
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Here we go Again?
I guess if you are like most adults, there must be times when you wonder whether life doesn’t go in circles and cycles. God bless the French who have just two words for that feeling – Déjà vu?
As my family and I continue to settle in our new community, some activities are becoming routine even if not boring. Some would argue that the repetitive activities lead to some order while other free-spirited souls would prefer a different menu.
Since our last ‘chat’, Danju has completed his volleyball tryouts and made the school team. Now that has meant practice after school three days in each week and weekend round robin tournaments out-of-town. Two weekends ago it was Stony Plain and on Sunday last week it was at the University of Alberta campus in Edmonton. The tournament began at 11am, which meant that we had to go for Mass on Saturday evening or we’d have been in a deficit in that department of Mass attendance.
To make the 11am coin toss at the U-of-A tournament, I had to rush Danju out of bed early on Sunday, a fairly uncomfortable assignment because the previous evening was loaded with Mass and buffet dinner at Beijing House restaurant to celebrate (albeit belatedly) Sampi’s 17th birthday which fell on weekday.
So I did drop off Danju for his tournament and rushed home to take Papa to the ultra modern football turf at Riel Park in St. Albert for his game against the Millwood Grizzlies. This was Papa’s second game for his new team – St.Albert Colts. The coach uses him in two positions – punt return and running back. Does this remind you of the Cincinnati Bengals Ocho cinco 85? The game went well and Papa’s team won. Papa took a ding to the head in his 30 yards touchdown run and had to seat out the second half as a precaution. He’s OK though and looks forward to this Sunday’s game in Sherwood against the Sherwood Raiders.
Today is Thursday and it’s Air Cadet night at the Community hall in downtown St.Albert. The children registered for this last week and we haven’t stopped talking about the huge opportunities that becoming air cadets in Canada presents the children for leadership training, obtaining air glider and light aircraft pilot licenses, learning to play different musical instruments, mastery in the use of air rifles etc. And top these with university scholarship offers and getting paid during summer camps; all at no financial costs whatsoever for us parents. Not bad at all if you ask me.
By the way, managing all these activities calls for effective time management because schoolwork doesn’t take a break and neither do the chores and responsibilities at home.
Such is life really. We all have various stakeholders and obligations and juggle all these we must if we are to maintain a good balance in our lives. Did I start this by saying déjà vu? Yes indeed. Here we go again! Thanks for keeping a date with us; and your time is appreciated.
As my family and I continue to settle in our new community, some activities are becoming routine even if not boring. Some would argue that the repetitive activities lead to some order while other free-spirited souls would prefer a different menu.
Since our last ‘chat’, Danju has completed his volleyball tryouts and made the school team. Now that has meant practice after school three days in each week and weekend round robin tournaments out-of-town. Two weekends ago it was Stony Plain and on Sunday last week it was at the University of Alberta campus in Edmonton. The tournament began at 11am, which meant that we had to go for Mass on Saturday evening or we’d have been in a deficit in that department of Mass attendance.
To make the 11am coin toss at the U-of-A tournament, I had to rush Danju out of bed early on Sunday, a fairly uncomfortable assignment because the previous evening was loaded with Mass and buffet dinner at Beijing House restaurant to celebrate (albeit belatedly) Sampi’s 17th birthday which fell on weekday.
So I did drop off Danju for his tournament and rushed home to take Papa to the ultra modern football turf at Riel Park in St. Albert for his game against the Millwood Grizzlies. This was Papa’s second game for his new team – St.Albert Colts. The coach uses him in two positions – punt return and running back. Does this remind you of the Cincinnati Bengals Ocho cinco 85? The game went well and Papa’s team won. Papa took a ding to the head in his 30 yards touchdown run and had to seat out the second half as a precaution. He’s OK though and looks forward to this Sunday’s game in Sherwood against the Sherwood Raiders.
Today is Thursday and it’s Air Cadet night at the Community hall in downtown St.Albert. The children registered for this last week and we haven’t stopped talking about the huge opportunities that becoming air cadets in Canada presents the children for leadership training, obtaining air glider and light aircraft pilot licenses, learning to play different musical instruments, mastery in the use of air rifles etc. And top these with university scholarship offers and getting paid during summer camps; all at no financial costs whatsoever for us parents. Not bad at all if you ask me.
By the way, managing all these activities calls for effective time management because schoolwork doesn’t take a break and neither do the chores and responsibilities at home.
Such is life really. We all have various stakeholders and obligations and juggle all these we must if we are to maintain a good balance in our lives. Did I start this by saying déjà vu? Yes indeed. Here we go again! Thanks for keeping a date with us; and your time is appreciated.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
St Albert it is.
It’s been one week since Sampi, Danju and Papa went back to their respective schools in our new location. I have had to pinch myself a few times to remind me that this is St. Albert. You know I am driving along and then I see a building that my poor brain registers as unfamiliar and I go “… has this always been here or…” then I recollect that this is not Oakville but my new home for the past one month – serene St. Albert, a quiet mini town of about forty thousand residents where I have been told a few times that everyone seems to know of everyone. This is no truer than the Catholic Parish on Vital Avenue where Sampi, Danju, Papa and yours sincerely are the only spice to the colouration. The children and I were talking last Sunday after Mass and we say this may be a golden opportunity to expand the horizon and positively shift the paradigm for some members of our Parish whose only contact with the world outside Alberta is what the ‘boob tube’ had fed them all this while. And we all know some of this, tends to be embellished for pure ratings anyway.
So to get ready for back to school, the family- Papa, Danju, Sampi, Siya and I went mini golfing last weekend. It was lovely goofing around on the course for two hours plus and we capped the day with dinner at the Earls.
We got home later and the children picked out (as if they had not done it many times before) what to wear for the first day of school. This was special though because it was the first day in new schools in a new town. I must say (even if it is with a little bias), that they looked very nice as they stepped out that Monday morning in August. Danju and Papa rode on the school bus and I dropped of Sampi all through the week. This changes from next week as Sampi finally got a seat on the bus to her school.
The children have made a few acquaintances at school and Siya and I have also gone to meet their homeroom teachers and be introduced.
There have been the odd homework and also pictures day at school.
Today is the first weekend since the children went back to school and we have all been basically in doors at home except for when Siya and I drove to her job to kick off a seminar she has for new intakes. We had planned to scoot over to the gym at Servus Place but changed our minds on the way back from Edmonton and headed home. Sampi, Danju and Papa have taken today as a rest day because Monday is a holiday and it just doesn’t feel wrong that all they have done is play computer games, eat and or get on the lap tops. I guess we have to cut them some slack some time and why not do so today especially after staying up into the wee hours of the morning yesterday watching movies as part of the family night.Well tomorrow is Sunday and to Mass we must go so I’d sign off the diary at this time.
So to get ready for back to school, the family- Papa, Danju, Sampi, Siya and I went mini golfing last weekend. It was lovely goofing around on the course for two hours plus and we capped the day with dinner at the Earls.
We got home later and the children picked out (as if they had not done it many times before) what to wear for the first day of school. This was special though because it was the first day in new schools in a new town. I must say (even if it is with a little bias), that they looked very nice as they stepped out that Monday morning in August. Danju and Papa rode on the school bus and I dropped of Sampi all through the week. This changes from next week as Sampi finally got a seat on the bus to her school.
The children have made a few acquaintances at school and Siya and I have also gone to meet their homeroom teachers and be introduced.
There have been the odd homework and also pictures day at school.
Today is the first weekend since the children went back to school and we have all been basically in doors at home except for when Siya and I drove to her job to kick off a seminar she has for new intakes. We had planned to scoot over to the gym at Servus Place but changed our minds on the way back from Edmonton and headed home. Sampi, Danju and Papa have taken today as a rest day because Monday is a holiday and it just doesn’t feel wrong that all they have done is play computer games, eat and or get on the lap tops. I guess we have to cut them some slack some time and why not do so today especially after staying up into the wee hours of the morning yesterday watching movies as part of the family night.Well tomorrow is Sunday and to Mass we must go so I’d sign off the diary at this time.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
BIG Things Can Come In Most Unexpected and Often Small Packages
There are days you feel so out of sorts that all you want to do is lie in bed and try to clear the 'cobwebs' in your head and on your mind. Today was shaping to be like one such day with a down in the dumps feeling until my peace was stirred by a long distance call from a client who needed my intervention with his situation. I dragged my frame out of bed and turned my laptop out of it's sleeper mode and my inbox had its fair dose of unwanted emails which I promptly deleted.
There was a forwarded email from one of my sisters back home that I am thankful I saw because it is turning out to be one of the most profound pieces I have read in a while and I do read quite a lot - from the humdrum to the inspiring, from the ordinary to the magnificent, I read all that I can find.
It was a story by Mac Anderson, Founder -Simple Truths about a young man who was born with physical limitations of sight and mobility but who transcended those limitations and had become a musical virtuoso.
It wasn't just that he overcame his difference of ability but his attitude was simple yet infectious. In his moment of eternal adversity, the young man did not dissipate energy bemoaning his fate but elected instead to see the glass as half full instead of half empty and counted his blessings.
Part of the moral lesson from this story is that "Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...it's about learning how to dance in the rain!"
In a very capitalist world, this becomes even more topical. In the rush of everyday life, we often fail to stop and smell the roses. If we are not complaining about how cold it gets in the winter (as if we did not know it was going to get cold), we are complaining about how hot and humid the summer feels. We remark that the traffic was heavy instead of being grateful that we have vehicles and that we got home safely.
It was Sarah Breathnach who is reported as saying that "when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that's present....we experience heaven on earth."
Life is a journey not a destination and at whatever spot of that journey you are on, there are tons of people who would give anything to be in your place.
So as I step out to dance in the rain, I am grateful in the realization that life changing insights can come from the most unexpected of places and in this case, an innocuous email from my sister.
There was a forwarded email from one of my sisters back home that I am thankful I saw because it is turning out to be one of the most profound pieces I have read in a while and I do read quite a lot - from the humdrum to the inspiring, from the ordinary to the magnificent, I read all that I can find.
It was a story by Mac Anderson, Founder -Simple Truths about a young man who was born with physical limitations of sight and mobility but who transcended those limitations and had become a musical virtuoso.
It wasn't just that he overcame his difference of ability but his attitude was simple yet infectious. In his moment of eternal adversity, the young man did not dissipate energy bemoaning his fate but elected instead to see the glass as half full instead of half empty and counted his blessings.
Part of the moral lesson from this story is that "Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...it's about learning how to dance in the rain!"
In a very capitalist world, this becomes even more topical. In the rush of everyday life, we often fail to stop and smell the roses. If we are not complaining about how cold it gets in the winter (as if we did not know it was going to get cold), we are complaining about how hot and humid the summer feels. We remark that the traffic was heavy instead of being grateful that we have vehicles and that we got home safely.
It was Sarah Breathnach who is reported as saying that "when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that's present....we experience heaven on earth."
Life is a journey not a destination and at whatever spot of that journey you are on, there are tons of people who would give anything to be in your place.
So as I step out to dance in the rain, I am grateful in the realization that life changing insights can come from the most unexpected of places and in this case, an innocuous email from my sister.
Monday, July 27, 2009
IT'S A BOY!!
Before you start wondering what's up with me, the above caption was exactly the message posted on the door of my office in Colgate Palmolive Africa -Middle East Division some twelve years ago.
My young family at that time (Siya, Sampi and Danju) was staying in Dallas and old ranger was in Nigeria working hard to bring home the ham. Talk of challenges we sometimes go through in trying to provide for our families.
So as I walked through the front office that eventful morning in Lagos, I was greeted with a lot more smiles than was the usual - a sign that something great was ahead of me. The lady in charge of the front office and the mail delivery personnel (cell phones were a status symbol at that time in Nigeria and a lot of official communication was delivered by hand by these delivery personnel, God bless their kind hearts) did well to hold back from breaking the news to me.
I matched briskly to my door and there it was posted in black ink on a white sheet of paper " It's a boy!". The pleasant surprise mixed with some other emotions that words can hardly describe enveloped me and when I regained my composure, Jacqueline (Atul's PA at that time) confirmed getting the call from my sister Flo.
Fast forward 12 years and that baby whom God blessed us with is now a young man with so much potential. That young man is Papa, the youngest of my three angels about whom a lot has been written in earlier notes in the Diary of a Loving Daddy.
We are staying awake to usher in July 28 with a special family prayer of thanksgiving for our many blessings.
For all you who will get to read today's blog, we request that you say a prayer for Papa and all other kids the world over that they grow up in the light of God to be good citizens of their respective communities.
Happy Birthday Papa.
My young family at that time (Siya, Sampi and Danju) was staying in Dallas and old ranger was in Nigeria working hard to bring home the ham. Talk of challenges we sometimes go through in trying to provide for our families.
So as I walked through the front office that eventful morning in Lagos, I was greeted with a lot more smiles than was the usual - a sign that something great was ahead of me. The lady in charge of the front office and the mail delivery personnel (cell phones were a status symbol at that time in Nigeria and a lot of official communication was delivered by hand by these delivery personnel, God bless their kind hearts) did well to hold back from breaking the news to me.
I matched briskly to my door and there it was posted in black ink on a white sheet of paper " It's a boy!". The pleasant surprise mixed with some other emotions that words can hardly describe enveloped me and when I regained my composure, Jacqueline (Atul's PA at that time) confirmed getting the call from my sister Flo.
Fast forward 12 years and that baby whom God blessed us with is now a young man with so much potential. That young man is Papa, the youngest of my three angels about whom a lot has been written in earlier notes in the Diary of a Loving Daddy.
We are staying awake to usher in July 28 with a special family prayer of thanksgiving for our many blessings.
For all you who will get to read today's blog, we request that you say a prayer for Papa and all other kids the world over that they grow up in the light of God to be good citizens of their respective communities.
Happy Birthday Papa.
Monday, July 20, 2009
NEW BEGINNINGS IN WILD ROSE COUNTY
I woke up this morning to the preaching of Joel Osteen (the well liked and widely listened-to pastor of lake wood church in Houston Texas) and today’s message was about dreams and opportunities and it seemed appropriate for the caption of today’s blog.
So much has happened since the last posting on the Diary – arguably the greatest music entertainer of our generation MJ passed on and left in his wake a lot of controversies which seem like a mirror image of the excitement that his life on the stage and out of it was; the world celebrated the 40th anniversary of humans landing on the moon, a small step for man and a giant leap for mankind; my son Papa played his last game in a Renegades jersey as an atom running back; my family stopped calling Oakville home and much more.
Last week my family and I began a new life in Wild Rose county, some four hours away by air from Oakville, a beautiful suburb that had been our home for the past 5+ years and one we had thought was our final place of reside. Such is life. Man proposes and God disposes. So it’s a new beginning for us. We therefore claim the message in Joel Osteen’s sermon of today and will rise and shine.
Expect more from the Diary.
So much has happened since the last posting on the Diary – arguably the greatest music entertainer of our generation MJ passed on and left in his wake a lot of controversies which seem like a mirror image of the excitement that his life on the stage and out of it was; the world celebrated the 40th anniversary of humans landing on the moon, a small step for man and a giant leap for mankind; my son Papa played his last game in a Renegades jersey as an atom running back; my family stopped calling Oakville home and much more.
Last week my family and I began a new life in Wild Rose county, some four hours away by air from Oakville, a beautiful suburb that had been our home for the past 5+ years and one we had thought was our final place of reside. Such is life. Man proposes and God disposes. So it’s a new beginning for us. We therefore claim the message in Joel Osteen’s sermon of today and will rise and shine.
Expect more from the Diary.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Dedication to Michael Jackson
Hold meLike the river jordan
And I will then say to theeYou are my friend
Carry meLike you are my brother
Love me like a mother
Will you be there?
Weary
Tell me will you hold me
When wrong, will you skold me
When lost will you find me?
But they told me
A man should be faithful
And walk when not able
And fight till the end
But Im only human
Everyones taking control of me
Seems that the world's
Got a role for me
Im so confused
Will you show to me
Youll be there for me
And care enough to bear me(lead me)
(lay your head lowly)
(softly then boldly)
(carry me there)
(hold me)
(love me and feed me)
(kiss me and free me)
(I will feel blessed)
(carry)(carry me boldly)
(lift me up slowly)
(carry me there)(save me)
(heal me and bathe me)
(softly you say to me)(I will be there)
(lift me)(lift me up slowly)
(carry me boldly)
(show me you care)
(hold me)(lay your head lowly)
(softly then boldly)(carry me there)
(need me)(love me and feed me)
(kiss me and free me)(I will feel blessed)
(spoken)
In our darkest hour
In my deepest despair
Will you still care?
Will you be there?
In my trials
And my tripulations
Through our doubts
And frustrations
In my violence
In my turbulence
Through my fear
And my confessions
In my anguish and my pain
Through my joy and my sorrow
In the promise of another tomorrow
Ill never let you part
For youre always in my heart.
And I will then say to theeYou are my friend
Carry meLike you are my brother
Love me like a mother
Will you be there?
Weary
Tell me will you hold me
When wrong, will you skold me
When lost will you find me?
But they told me
A man should be faithful
And walk when not able
And fight till the end
But Im only human
Everyones taking control of me
Seems that the world's
Got a role for me
Im so confused
Will you show to me
Youll be there for me
And care enough to bear me(lead me)
(lay your head lowly)
(softly then boldly)
(carry me there)
(hold me)
(love me and feed me)
(kiss me and free me)
(I will feel blessed)
(carry)(carry me boldly)
(lift me up slowly)
(carry me there)(save me)
(heal me and bathe me)
(softly you say to me)(I will be there)
(lift me)(lift me up slowly)
(carry me boldly)
(show me you care)
(hold me)(lay your head lowly)
(softly then boldly)(carry me there)
(need me)(love me and feed me)
(kiss me and free me)(I will feel blessed)
(spoken)
In our darkest hour
In my deepest despair
Will you still care?
Will you be there?
In my trials
And my tripulations
Through our doubts
And frustrations
In my violence
In my turbulence
Through my fear
And my confessions
In my anguish and my pain
Through my joy and my sorrow
In the promise of another tomorrow
Ill never let you part
For youre always in my heart.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Reflections
I have often wondered about homelessness and last week it assumed a new meaning for me. Before you start wondering where all this is leading to, I would ask what image comes to your mind when you hear some one is homeless (without a home).
Well, from July 9 to August 7 this year, my family and I will technically be without a home of our own- i.e. homeless. Please don’t panic! The reason is that we would be closing the sale of our current home on July 8 and the house we are buying will only be available for us to take possession of no earlier than August 7.
So are we going to be sleeping in our nap sacks on the streets in a cold strange city and neighbourhood? Not quite. Are we going to be having our shower in the open? That would have been very eco-friendly even though it would be aesthetically offensive and distasteful. Before your mind starts going on a creative excursion,none of the above is about to happen. While we would be without our own home, we would be hosing down a suite in a luxury furnished apartment for the period of our ‘homelessness’ until the current owners our new home ship out East (they are a military family- protectors of our country) and the head of the family having done two tours in Afghanistan, the least we can do at this point is be patient. Yes we will.
The sermon (what really is the difference between a sermon and a homily?) at Mass on Sunday centred on Corpus Christi; and at some point, the reverend father reminded us that the child is a father to the man. Does this sound confusing and somewhat convoluted? He went on to say the teenager you see today is a product of the the child you invested in during his young formative years. So when you are wondering ( as many adults are wont to do) about certain behaviours of the modern day teenager, the answer is not too far off. It is the yield of the investment made years ago when he was a kid.
That then brings me to the ‘trend’ I see increasingly as we all chase after financial empowerment ; that of absentee parenting. We all seem caught up with capitalist pursuits (please don’t get me wrong, capitalism is not bad in itself) that we under perform in the other and equally important arena of parenting and child mentoring. The risk I see here is that like a friend of mine in Nigeria remarked, we become only sources of financial comfort to our children and a lot less of emotional and physical support and relevance. It is little wonder therefore why when our children no longer look up to us for financial succour, we pale in our importance in their lives.
I am continuing to reflect on this. Perhaps you are too. All in all, family /work balance is tough to achieve in an increasingly capitalist world.
I would like to end on a high. I promised to report on Papa’s track meet at the Regional finals of Thursday last week.
He ran to instruction - exploding right off the blocks and with high knee actions and aerodynamic arm swings, led the pack right to the end. I thought he had pulled it off but it was adjudged a photo finish and he was given a silver medal. His timing was an improvement on the Monday city race so we are OK. Even more worthy of note was that the night before the race, we had to ice his ankle and had him wearing his ankle brace during the race. For all those who were rooting for him, I say thanks a lot. We love you.
Tomorrow, Danju has his school’s soccer tournament and it will be four soccer games in one day starting at 8am. Holy cow! How could one fit in four soccer games between 8am and 4pm on the same day and expect optimal output. Oh I forgot, we are a hockey nation and soccer is more like an after thought. Oh Canada…
Good night friends of the Diary of a Loving Daddy. We shall meet again.
Well, from July 9 to August 7 this year, my family and I will technically be without a home of our own- i.e. homeless. Please don’t panic! The reason is that we would be closing the sale of our current home on July 8 and the house we are buying will only be available for us to take possession of no earlier than August 7.
So are we going to be sleeping in our nap sacks on the streets in a cold strange city and neighbourhood? Not quite. Are we going to be having our shower in the open? That would have been very eco-friendly even though it would be aesthetically offensive and distasteful. Before your mind starts going on a creative excursion,none of the above is about to happen. While we would be without our own home, we would be hosing down a suite in a luxury furnished apartment for the period of our ‘homelessness’ until the current owners our new home ship out East (they are a military family- protectors of our country) and the head of the family having done two tours in Afghanistan, the least we can do at this point is be patient. Yes we will.
The sermon (what really is the difference between a sermon and a homily?) at Mass on Sunday centred on Corpus Christi; and at some point, the reverend father reminded us that the child is a father to the man. Does this sound confusing and somewhat convoluted? He went on to say the teenager you see today is a product of the the child you invested in during his young formative years. So when you are wondering ( as many adults are wont to do) about certain behaviours of the modern day teenager, the answer is not too far off. It is the yield of the investment made years ago when he was a kid.
That then brings me to the ‘trend’ I see increasingly as we all chase after financial empowerment ; that of absentee parenting. We all seem caught up with capitalist pursuits (please don’t get me wrong, capitalism is not bad in itself) that we under perform in the other and equally important arena of parenting and child mentoring. The risk I see here is that like a friend of mine in Nigeria remarked, we become only sources of financial comfort to our children and a lot less of emotional and physical support and relevance. It is little wonder therefore why when our children no longer look up to us for financial succour, we pale in our importance in their lives.
I am continuing to reflect on this. Perhaps you are too. All in all, family /work balance is tough to achieve in an increasingly capitalist world.
I would like to end on a high. I promised to report on Papa’s track meet at the Regional finals of Thursday last week.
He ran to instruction - exploding right off the blocks and with high knee actions and aerodynamic arm swings, led the pack right to the end. I thought he had pulled it off but it was adjudged a photo finish and he was given a silver medal. His timing was an improvement on the Monday city race so we are OK. Even more worthy of note was that the night before the race, we had to ice his ankle and had him wearing his ankle brace during the race. For all those who were rooting for him, I say thanks a lot. We love you.
Tomorrow, Danju has his school’s soccer tournament and it will be four soccer games in one day starting at 8am. Holy cow! How could one fit in four soccer games between 8am and 4pm on the same day and expect optimal output. Oh I forgot, we are a hockey nation and soccer is more like an after thought. Oh Canada…
Good night friends of the Diary of a Loving Daddy. We shall meet again.
Monday, June 8, 2009
From South to the North and back
It was a busy weekend for the ‘old ranger’. I was airborne aboard the Air Canada big bird on Thursday for a four-hour flight to the ‘Wild Rose Country’. It was as if the weather had my name written on it. I stepped out of the airplane and was hit by the cold whiff. The driver of the shuttle van , a recent immigrant from Dubai wondered why I was relocating from the near tropical weather of Oakville to the extreme cold winter of the North. My Siya meanwhile had called to find out how the flight was and soon was welcoming me and introducing me to colleagues at NorQuest College. A quick lunch later at an East Indian restaurant – nice buffet, and it was time to go see all the homes that had been scheduled for my viewing. See I did and Siya’s selection, I ratified. I was also shown the proposed schools for Sampi, Danju and Papa.
The next day I was largely home alone and working the phones negotiating mortgage terms with lenders- do I port my existing mortgage with all the attendant benefits or should we leverage our awesome credit score get a fresh clean mortgage. Meanwhile the weather refused to let up and the sun seemed to be in conspiracy with the cold to do me in. When life gives you lemons, you should not sit and brood, you get up and make lemonade. There is after all an upside to cold weather. Thanks be to God for duvets, comforters, fireplaces and …
Saturday was a nice mix of cold and sunshine. It’s in Canada that the sun can be shinning brightest and yet the cold will be tugging at your every fabric at the same time. You need to experience this to believe it. I did not fly 4 hours from Ontario to come and stay in indoors all through my visit here so I braved it and went with Omodu (an old buddy of mine dating back to when men were boys) and Siya to West Ed. Mall. I will be doing the readers of this Diary a disservice if I fail to mention that the West Edmonton mall is the biggest mall in the whole of North America. It covers 48 city blocks i.e. the size of 115 football fields. Now that is some humongous mall by any stretch of the imagination. It has over 50 entrances.
My flight back on Sunday arrived Toronto at about midnight and my angels were in ‘snooze land’ when I let myself into our home. I kissed each of them ( not that they would know but more for me as I’d missed them since Thursday).
If you remember, I had mentioned that Papa had his track meet scheduled for Monday which was why I had to be back by Sunday. The meet did hold and it was good to see my little guy ( he would kill me if he reads this because he hates to be called little guy) decked in his school track jersey and the lovely spike shoes with the spikes removed. His relay team was a bit weak and they came in third but; when it came to his specialty – 100 meters, he was in his elements. He literally burnt the tracks in the qualifying heats. The city finals was a close race and he was beaten at the tape by Christian -the contestant from St Bernadette.
The Regional Finals is on Thursday and he will race Christian and the other top two sprinters from the other cities. We will continue to ice his ankle which is yet to fully heal from the football game of last week and wish him the best on Thursday. Old ranger will be there and will bring you reports after the race.
Meanwhile, tomorrow is another football practice and his team needs him, so he will be on duty in his other role as a running back.
Stay ‘tuned’ in. Good night.
The next day I was largely home alone and working the phones negotiating mortgage terms with lenders- do I port my existing mortgage with all the attendant benefits or should we leverage our awesome credit score get a fresh clean mortgage. Meanwhile the weather refused to let up and the sun seemed to be in conspiracy with the cold to do me in. When life gives you lemons, you should not sit and brood, you get up and make lemonade. There is after all an upside to cold weather. Thanks be to God for duvets, comforters, fireplaces and …
Saturday was a nice mix of cold and sunshine. It’s in Canada that the sun can be shinning brightest and yet the cold will be tugging at your every fabric at the same time. You need to experience this to believe it. I did not fly 4 hours from Ontario to come and stay in indoors all through my visit here so I braved it and went with Omodu (an old buddy of mine dating back to when men were boys) and Siya to West Ed. Mall. I will be doing the readers of this Diary a disservice if I fail to mention that the West Edmonton mall is the biggest mall in the whole of North America. It covers 48 city blocks i.e. the size of 115 football fields. Now that is some humongous mall by any stretch of the imagination. It has over 50 entrances.
My flight back on Sunday arrived Toronto at about midnight and my angels were in ‘snooze land’ when I let myself into our home. I kissed each of them ( not that they would know but more for me as I’d missed them since Thursday).
If you remember, I had mentioned that Papa had his track meet scheduled for Monday which was why I had to be back by Sunday. The meet did hold and it was good to see my little guy ( he would kill me if he reads this because he hates to be called little guy) decked in his school track jersey and the lovely spike shoes with the spikes removed. His relay team was a bit weak and they came in third but; when it came to his specialty – 100 meters, he was in his elements. He literally burnt the tracks in the qualifying heats. The city finals was a close race and he was beaten at the tape by Christian -the contestant from St Bernadette.
The Regional Finals is on Thursday and he will race Christian and the other top two sprinters from the other cities. We will continue to ice his ankle which is yet to fully heal from the football game of last week and wish him the best on Thursday. Old ranger will be there and will bring you reports after the race.
Meanwhile, tomorrow is another football practice and his team needs him, so he will be on duty in his other role as a running back.
Stay ‘tuned’ in. Good night.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Mixed Grill
Sometime last week I got a heart wrenching piece of information from an old high school mate back in Nigeria and the mother of an 11 year old girl – Morenike. Her young daughter had died of what has been termed cerebral malaria just a couple of months into her first year in secondary school with boarding facilities. According to the distraught mother, her daughter had tall dreams and had been sent to this private christian school in an attempt by doting parents to give a child the best. She feels very bitter that those in whose care she she had entrusted her daughter failed the poor kid. For young Morenike, the sun had set at dawn. I strongly feel(albeit with a bias because I love my children to smithereens) that no parent should have to live with the unending pain of losing a child especially out of negligence. My deepest sympathies go the family of young Morenike.
By the time you read this, I may be some four to six hours away on a home search in one of the Canadian provinces famed for her 9 months of winter. God help me. Having lived a greater part of my life so far in the tropics, what have I got myself into. I have been told that this move is strategic and wise and would position the family for huge potential benefits. It had better be.
I will be gone for a couple of days and would be back in time for Papa’s track meet on Monday where he is scheduled to run the 100m and also the anchor leg for his school’s relay team. To ensure that he gives it his all, I took him out last week to the venue of the track meet so he could get a feel of the tracks in his new spike shoes. The regulations say no spikes are allowed so as not to mess up the tartan tracks. We have therefore taken off all the spikes so he would wear the shoes because they are light weight and if I must say colourful too. For a kid his age, he’s got ‘wheels for legs’ and I am hoping his ankle which is hurting at the moment is okay by Monday when the race is due. He had hurt his ankle at Sunday’s football game in Port Credit against a tough Mississauga Nerd team that virtually blew the Renegades away. The Renegades defensive line just could not stop the runs by the offense of the opponents. The Oakville team huddled together at the end bruised and battered but unbowed and promised pay back when both teams meet again in the season.
Last week ended for me on a bit of a low. I had gone to see a client in Etobicoke and had my SUV’s rear driver’s side pretty much messed up. The vehicle is currently at a Honda body shop and will leave me four grand poorer by the time I get it back after 5 days. To be set back by such huge 'smakaroos' hurts. Ouch.What was I thinking? The upside is that no physical injuries were suffered. On that sombre note, let me go get some shut eye because my flight is an early one tomorrow.
We’d communicate again on my return…
By the time you read this, I may be some four to six hours away on a home search in one of the Canadian provinces famed for her 9 months of winter. God help me. Having lived a greater part of my life so far in the tropics, what have I got myself into. I have been told that this move is strategic and wise and would position the family for huge potential benefits. It had better be.
I will be gone for a couple of days and would be back in time for Papa’s track meet on Monday where he is scheduled to run the 100m and also the anchor leg for his school’s relay team. To ensure that he gives it his all, I took him out last week to the venue of the track meet so he could get a feel of the tracks in his new spike shoes. The regulations say no spikes are allowed so as not to mess up the tartan tracks. We have therefore taken off all the spikes so he would wear the shoes because they are light weight and if I must say colourful too. For a kid his age, he’s got ‘wheels for legs’ and I am hoping his ankle which is hurting at the moment is okay by Monday when the race is due. He had hurt his ankle at Sunday’s football game in Port Credit against a tough Mississauga Nerd team that virtually blew the Renegades away. The Renegades defensive line just could not stop the runs by the offense of the opponents. The Oakville team huddled together at the end bruised and battered but unbowed and promised pay back when both teams meet again in the season.
Last week ended for me on a bit of a low. I had gone to see a client in Etobicoke and had my SUV’s rear driver’s side pretty much messed up. The vehicle is currently at a Honda body shop and will leave me four grand poorer by the time I get it back after 5 days. To be set back by such huge 'smakaroos' hurts. Ouch.What was I thinking? The upside is that no physical injuries were suffered. On that sombre note, let me go get some shut eye because my flight is an early one tomorrow.
We’d communicate again on my return…
Monday, June 1, 2009
Bytes, Bits and Things
For the second time in a row, I am having to play catch up. There are times when your mind says ‘green’ and yet the body says ‘red’. I have been in that kind of a funk in the recent past. Did someone say there was a panacea for that? I am all ears but not a quick fix because you end up feeling a lot more overwhelmed than when you started out. I guess that is why anything (and I mean anything) that gives you a quick 'umph' needs be viewed with some skepticism.
Well, Danju’s Ottawa trip came and went. All my anxieties came to nought. The young fellow and his classmates had fun and came back safely. It would seem however that it was a little too busy as so much activity was packed into a few days trip – a possible reason for the cold and flu symptoms that he came down with a day after the trip.
It was yet another football game for Papa’s team – the Oakville Titan Renegades two Sundays back at Iroquois Ridge High School field. Interesting game! The Renegades ran up an 18-6 lead by the half only to see a couple of fumbles allow the Mississauga team back into the game. Some said it came down to mental toughness while others violently argue that the injury to Andrew a key defensive player took the fighting spirit out of Oakville.
It was kind of a scary moment watching Andrew go down after a tackle. Initially it seemed nothing out of the ordinary ( for a physical sport as football) and perhaps it was just a little ‘kink’ in the neck. Thirty or so minutes later and he was still lying in a supine position on the field with medics around him ( the ambulance was called in) I had that sinking feeling that says “ wow this is much more than I thought”. Of course the game at that point was the last thing on anybody’s mind.
As he was being carried off on a stretcher into the ambulance with his neck in a brace, his team mates who took a knee all that while with helmets off cheered but there was no thumbs up sign from Andrew. That was not a good sign. We were later to be informed that he had what in lay terms could be close to a whiplash but had felt so much numbness in his fingers that tried as much as he did, he could not give the thumbs up sign to the crowd cheering as he was carried off. How soon he will return to the team is difficult to guess because he still wore his neck brace at last night’s game. If you are wondering what he was doing at last night’s game, wait for it. He came to cheer his team. A good young Canadian kid! That’s what camaraderie is all about.
As Andrew was carried off at the Iroquois High School field, the game was restarted. By this time, the mood on the Renegades team was sombre. Remember these are kids 10 – 12 years. When the final whistle was blown, Renegades had lost by one point. C’est la vie!
I forgot to let you know that we finally did get our home sold for a profit (in a very depressed market). To God be the glory. Those who know the business will tell you that in real estate three words matter – Location, Location Location!
Now we need to intensify our search for a home to buy in our new location. When you live in a city and are shopping for a home in another city some 4 hours away by air it gets tricky. God help us.
My daughter Sampi has not been a happy camper since the ‘For Sale’ sign went up on our lawn. I understand perfectly. In your penultimate year in high school what you don’t want is to go to another school so far out and begin to build new acquaintances. Some times you wish everything was within your control. I feel for my baby girl. How do you tell her in this situation to start tidying up for the move. Tidying up is a whole new ball game. A home is not just a building, it is your sanctuary and when you have lived in yours as long as we have in ours, putting all your stuff in boxes for the movers to take is a bit daunting. We are at that stage now and it’s yours sincerely with three children. Boy am I going gray or what?
You start sorting things out, and the more you dig the more things seem to remain the same. It is a challenge but a friend said his dad told him a s a young boy that life was not for sissies. I think it was Macbeth who was quoted as saying “… they have tied me to a stake, I cannot flee but bear-like I will fight this cause…” Yes we can!
Well, Danju’s Ottawa trip came and went. All my anxieties came to nought. The young fellow and his classmates had fun and came back safely. It would seem however that it was a little too busy as so much activity was packed into a few days trip – a possible reason for the cold and flu symptoms that he came down with a day after the trip.
It was yet another football game for Papa’s team – the Oakville Titan Renegades two Sundays back at Iroquois Ridge High School field. Interesting game! The Renegades ran up an 18-6 lead by the half only to see a couple of fumbles allow the Mississauga team back into the game. Some said it came down to mental toughness while others violently argue that the injury to Andrew a key defensive player took the fighting spirit out of Oakville.
It was kind of a scary moment watching Andrew go down after a tackle. Initially it seemed nothing out of the ordinary ( for a physical sport as football) and perhaps it was just a little ‘kink’ in the neck. Thirty or so minutes later and he was still lying in a supine position on the field with medics around him ( the ambulance was called in) I had that sinking feeling that says “ wow this is much more than I thought”. Of course the game at that point was the last thing on anybody’s mind.
As he was being carried off on a stretcher into the ambulance with his neck in a brace, his team mates who took a knee all that while with helmets off cheered but there was no thumbs up sign from Andrew. That was not a good sign. We were later to be informed that he had what in lay terms could be close to a whiplash but had felt so much numbness in his fingers that tried as much as he did, he could not give the thumbs up sign to the crowd cheering as he was carried off. How soon he will return to the team is difficult to guess because he still wore his neck brace at last night’s game. If you are wondering what he was doing at last night’s game, wait for it. He came to cheer his team. A good young Canadian kid! That’s what camaraderie is all about.
As Andrew was carried off at the Iroquois High School field, the game was restarted. By this time, the mood on the Renegades team was sombre. Remember these are kids 10 – 12 years. When the final whistle was blown, Renegades had lost by one point. C’est la vie!
I forgot to let you know that we finally did get our home sold for a profit (in a very depressed market). To God be the glory. Those who know the business will tell you that in real estate three words matter – Location, Location Location!
Now we need to intensify our search for a home to buy in our new location. When you live in a city and are shopping for a home in another city some 4 hours away by air it gets tricky. God help us.
My daughter Sampi has not been a happy camper since the ‘For Sale’ sign went up on our lawn. I understand perfectly. In your penultimate year in high school what you don’t want is to go to another school so far out and begin to build new acquaintances. Some times you wish everything was within your control. I feel for my baby girl. How do you tell her in this situation to start tidying up for the move. Tidying up is a whole new ball game. A home is not just a building, it is your sanctuary and when you have lived in yours as long as we have in ours, putting all your stuff in boxes for the movers to take is a bit daunting. We are at that stage now and it’s yours sincerely with three children. Boy am I going gray or what?
You start sorting things out, and the more you dig the more things seem to remain the same. It is a challenge but a friend said his dad told him a s a young boy that life was not for sissies. I think it was Macbeth who was quoted as saying “… they have tied me to a stake, I cannot flee but bear-like I will fight this cause…” Yes we can!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Catching Up
It’s now a week+ since our last conversation so there’s a whole lot of catching up to do. I’d try to cram in as much detail as I can without boring you. Just sit, relax and enjoy the ride.
The week began with getting the University Painters and Window Cleaners ( for those adults who may have seen the movie – “Confessions of a window cleaner”, what you are about to read is an exact opposite and as far from the movie as you could find. Sorry to disappoint you) to put a fresh coat of paint on the garage door and all window frames while the glass windows and doors got a thorough wiping down. Now you must be wondering why this is worthy of mention.
I was blown away by the professionalism and dedication to duty of these university students – two males and three females with their respective franchise managers who themselves are students too. For the two days the teams worked, you could count how many times, they engaged in idle chatter or frivolous conduct. They split up and painstakingly tackled the respective aspects of the jobs they were assigned. Wait for it, the ladies did all the paint job which included carrying ladders and climbing the roof to paint the windows that were that high up. They were quite handy and deserve generous commendations.
My boy Danju had on Monday following Mother’s Day began his soccer practice after a successful school tryout. The challenge here is that some practice will hold after school hours which means that I would have to pick him because the school bus which usually brings him home will be unavailable that late. Did I hear you say big deal. Perhaps you will have kinder words for me when you remember that Papa has his football practice twice a week at the opposite end of town and on the same days as Danju’s after-school-hours soccer practice. Boy who said life was easy. I am still scratching my head about fitting both conflicting events so no egos are bruised. Phew!!
More about Danju. He turned fourteen today and is away to Ottawa on a school trip for four days. I had to rush him out of bed at 5am this morning to enable us meet the 6.30 am departure time for the 5 hour-long bus trip to Ottawa. He (like most of his mates on the trip) was excited at all the activities lined up including visits to the Parliament Building – our Canadian seat of federal power and the Rideau Canal -a visitor's paradise for boating, cruising, sightseeing, fishing, swimming, shopping, relaxing and more. A part of me is happy for my boy but another part of me is anxious because this is his first trip without a family member. Well I guess I have to learn to start letting go. He has grown so tall in the past year and has yet to still grow.
Papa had his first game of the football season on Thursday last week and finally the monkey is off his back. I quote verbatim from a report done by the team manager on the game:
Our First Game and VICTORY!!
Congratulations to the boys and the coaching staff on a fantastic start to the 2009 season!! The Renegades ran the ball exceptionally well en route to a 20-6 victory over Toronto last Thursday night. Touchdowns by our running backs -Trenton Ford (#74), Riley Manning (#13) and Felix Mba (#8) - capped off an all-round team effort! Following an early Toronto touchdown, our defense tightened up and played tough Renegades ball for the balance of the game. Great job, boys!
Special thanks to all the parents for camping out on the far side of the field away from bench. It is critical in football that the boys remain focused as the coaches need to constantly teach them about how to play especially while the game is actually being played. Having you cheer them on is definitely encouraged from the far side of the field....while the coaches do their valuable work with the boys …
Just in case you are wondering, Felix Mba is Papa ( a name he got as an infant because of his age inappropriate behaviour. He acted and still acts at times, way more mature than his age would lead you to expect!)
It was Victoria Day weekend and a time for fireworks and to chill with family. The Queen Victoria celebration is one of the vestiges of colonialism that still hangs on Canada’s neck and one that is not likely to be shed soon. Just for the records, Canada is a member of the British Commonwealth and we still have a Governor General position as well the face of the queen of England on our currency.
So it was Victoria Day weekend and Siya came down from her base for some quality time with the family. It was short ( time with loved ones always seem short) but it gave us a much cherished and ‘longed-for’ time to be a complete family once again. She went back to base after three nights and this morning it was Danju leaving for Ottawa. So it’s back to just Sampi, Papa and yours sincerely at home until Danju gets back on Friday.
I promised to bring The Diary up to speed and feel like I have done the catching up as I said I would.
Now I can go get some sleep and leave you to attend to other matters. Good night…
The week began with getting the University Painters and Window Cleaners ( for those adults who may have seen the movie – “Confessions of a window cleaner”, what you are about to read is an exact opposite and as far from the movie as you could find. Sorry to disappoint you) to put a fresh coat of paint on the garage door and all window frames while the glass windows and doors got a thorough wiping down. Now you must be wondering why this is worthy of mention.
I was blown away by the professionalism and dedication to duty of these university students – two males and three females with their respective franchise managers who themselves are students too. For the two days the teams worked, you could count how many times, they engaged in idle chatter or frivolous conduct. They split up and painstakingly tackled the respective aspects of the jobs they were assigned. Wait for it, the ladies did all the paint job which included carrying ladders and climbing the roof to paint the windows that were that high up. They were quite handy and deserve generous commendations.
My boy Danju had on Monday following Mother’s Day began his soccer practice after a successful school tryout. The challenge here is that some practice will hold after school hours which means that I would have to pick him because the school bus which usually brings him home will be unavailable that late. Did I hear you say big deal. Perhaps you will have kinder words for me when you remember that Papa has his football practice twice a week at the opposite end of town and on the same days as Danju’s after-school-hours soccer practice. Boy who said life was easy. I am still scratching my head about fitting both conflicting events so no egos are bruised. Phew!!
More about Danju. He turned fourteen today and is away to Ottawa on a school trip for four days. I had to rush him out of bed at 5am this morning to enable us meet the 6.30 am departure time for the 5 hour-long bus trip to Ottawa. He (like most of his mates on the trip) was excited at all the activities lined up including visits to the Parliament Building – our Canadian seat of federal power and the Rideau Canal -a visitor's paradise for boating, cruising, sightseeing, fishing, swimming, shopping, relaxing and more. A part of me is happy for my boy but another part of me is anxious because this is his first trip without a family member. Well I guess I have to learn to start letting go. He has grown so tall in the past year and has yet to still grow.
Papa had his first game of the football season on Thursday last week and finally the monkey is off his back. I quote verbatim from a report done by the team manager on the game:
Our First Game and VICTORY!!
Congratulations to the boys and the coaching staff on a fantastic start to the 2009 season!! The Renegades ran the ball exceptionally well en route to a 20-6 victory over Toronto last Thursday night. Touchdowns by our running backs -Trenton Ford (#74), Riley Manning (#13) and Felix Mba (#8) - capped off an all-round team effort! Following an early Toronto touchdown, our defense tightened up and played tough Renegades ball for the balance of the game. Great job, boys!
Special thanks to all the parents for camping out on the far side of the field away from bench. It is critical in football that the boys remain focused as the coaches need to constantly teach them about how to play especially while the game is actually being played. Having you cheer them on is definitely encouraged from the far side of the field....while the coaches do their valuable work with the boys …
Just in case you are wondering, Felix Mba is Papa ( a name he got as an infant because of his age inappropriate behaviour. He acted and still acts at times, way more mature than his age would lead you to expect!)
It was Victoria Day weekend and a time for fireworks and to chill with family. The Queen Victoria celebration is one of the vestiges of colonialism that still hangs on Canada’s neck and one that is not likely to be shed soon. Just for the records, Canada is a member of the British Commonwealth and we still have a Governor General position as well the face of the queen of England on our currency.
So it was Victoria Day weekend and Siya came down from her base for some quality time with the family. It was short ( time with loved ones always seem short) but it gave us a much cherished and ‘longed-for’ time to be a complete family once again. She went back to base after three nights and this morning it was Danju leaving for Ottawa. So it’s back to just Sampi, Papa and yours sincerely at home until Danju gets back on Friday.
I promised to bring The Diary up to speed and feel like I have done the catching up as I said I would.
Now I can go get some sleep and leave you to attend to other matters. Good night…
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Mother's Day
Today is special (well shouldn't every day be special if you really think of it) it is Mother’s Day in North America and so the diary sends felicitations to all Females - mothers, yet to be mothers, those who are unable to be mothers (for whatever reasons) and also to those who have decided not to be mothers. May the good Lord bless your every effort and meet you all at your various points of need.
My children and I have just finished saying our prayers for the night after what was largely a day we goofed around. Saturday was busy with two home showings (yes the showings continue as we look forward to a reasonable offer in the hope that the ultimate buyer will see as much value as we have extracted thus far living here). We also touched up a few areas to increase the curb appeal and exterior ambience.
Papa’s scrimmage was cancelled not because it rained but because the rains came with some lightening. Better to be safe than be sorry.
So we slept in until 9am on Sunday when Sampi who was billed to do a power point presentation at church left. The boys and I then went to pick up the mother’s day gift item we had worked on for Siya (who sadly will wait until she’s here next weekend to see it).
Our next port of call was Etobicoke to attend the Igbo Mass and the christening of my cousin’s grand kid.
We returned to Oakville after the Mass and it has been childlike fun all the way. Boy, I am loving it. Part of what we’ve had to do was sing the ‘Song of the South” – the Zippity Do Dah song.
Please don’t blame me if this is a song that you can’t relate to. For all who are baby boomers or within a shouting distance of the golden generation, I can understand your plight. I will attempt to post the lyrics below. For the younger ones among us or the young at heart, please clear your throats and sing along:
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay
My, oh my, what a wonderful day
Plenty of sunshine headin' my way
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay
Mister Bluebird's on my shoulder
It's the truth, it's actual
Ev'rything is satisfactual
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay
Wonderful feeling, wonderful day
Happy Mother’s day and have a good night.
My children and I have just finished saying our prayers for the night after what was largely a day we goofed around. Saturday was busy with two home showings (yes the showings continue as we look forward to a reasonable offer in the hope that the ultimate buyer will see as much value as we have extracted thus far living here). We also touched up a few areas to increase the curb appeal and exterior ambience.
Papa’s scrimmage was cancelled not because it rained but because the rains came with some lightening. Better to be safe than be sorry.
So we slept in until 9am on Sunday when Sampi who was billed to do a power point presentation at church left. The boys and I then went to pick up the mother’s day gift item we had worked on for Siya (who sadly will wait until she’s here next weekend to see it).
Our next port of call was Etobicoke to attend the Igbo Mass and the christening of my cousin’s grand kid.
We returned to Oakville after the Mass and it has been childlike fun all the way. Boy, I am loving it. Part of what we’ve had to do was sing the ‘Song of the South” – the Zippity Do Dah song.
Please don’t blame me if this is a song that you can’t relate to. For all who are baby boomers or within a shouting distance of the golden generation, I can understand your plight. I will attempt to post the lyrics below. For the younger ones among us or the young at heart, please clear your throats and sing along:
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay
My, oh my, what a wonderful day
Plenty of sunshine headin' my way
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay
Mister Bluebird's on my shoulder
It's the truth, it's actual
Ev'rything is satisfactual
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay
Wonderful feeling, wonderful day
Happy Mother’s day and have a good night.
Friday, May 8, 2009
All it takes is a Day
Indeed a day can make a world of difference. Ever tried talking with someone who missed a very important deadline (such as closing the deal on a house purchase, or the purchase of a long-haul flight ticket that was on a sale, or someone’s wedding etc) by just one day. It could be just a day to you but if you are involved (apologies to Ikemba Nnewi of “Because I’m Involved fame”) it could be mean the world.
So Monday and Tuesday my baby boy Papa was as shadow of his usually ebullient self and could not go to school. To get him to eat was like pushing water uphill. By this time, Danju was feeling much better. My poor Sampi had to take some hours off her school time to stay home with Papa while I kept a business appointment at mid day on Monday. Talk of team work and I say give me better examples.
As suddenly as it came, it disappeared. I mean what the medics had said was Papa’s flu (not the swine one). So early on Wednesday, my little guy (a description he would rather I did not use) got up and got dressed for school. Wow! The sun shines after all. I would have preferred breaking him back into the scheme of things gradually but here he was ready to roll. So after making sure he had his multivitamin, vit-C, his Buckley’s (that awful tasting but efficacious cough concoction) and of course something to eat, I let him roll.
Meanwhile I made sure my cell phone was by me at all times just in the event that he got to school and had a relapse (is that word correct in this context?). Three hours after, no phone call. Four, five, six hours later still no phone call. God is with us! At 3.05pm, the door bell rang and it was Papa. He had made it through the school day but that wasn’t all. He had also cemented his place on the school’s track team and would be representing the school in 100m as well as being the relay anchor. See how much difference a day can make. He did look very tired though so I pleaded with him to have his lunch and take a snooze. I also made him a glass of smoothie as additional refreshment.
Wednesday night was youth night for the boys. Danju wanted to go for it and so did Papa. Between you and me, I did not feel comfortable allowing Papa to attend – the cautious daddy not wanting to push his son’s recovery.
Sampi meanwhile had an art exhibition at school and I had to go take a look at my girl’s works. From Sampi’s art exhibition, she and I went over and picked the boys (yes Papa twisted my arm into allowing him go for youth).
Meanwhile I forgot to mention that because Papa was not in his elements on Tuesday he had missed Tuesday night’s football practice. I got an email on Thursday in the morning that an extra practice had been scheduled for Thursday night to further prep his Atom team (who meanwhile had been baptized Oakville Titan Renegades) for a scrimmage fixed for Saturday. If we had not missed the Tuesday practice or his position on the team was not key, I would have passed on the Thursday one so Papa could recover some more.
Anyway we went for the Thursday practice but left after about 70 minutes when he got tired. The upside was that he had shown his team he would battle with them on Saturday.
By the way, I sometimes wonder why football teams (not soccer please, so don’t ask me what I thought of the Chelsea versus Barcelona game and of the refereeing) have intimidating names – Renegades, Bengals( Cincinnati) , Buccaneers (Tampa), Chargers (San Diego), Packers (Green Bay), Raiders (Oakland) etc. You can leave a comment on this blog if you have an opinion.
Today was Talent Day show at Papa’s school and tomorrow is the scrimmage I touched on earlier. Wish us well will you?
Good night now and keep your eyes open for more …
So Monday and Tuesday my baby boy Papa was as shadow of his usually ebullient self and could not go to school. To get him to eat was like pushing water uphill. By this time, Danju was feeling much better. My poor Sampi had to take some hours off her school time to stay home with Papa while I kept a business appointment at mid day on Monday. Talk of team work and I say give me better examples.
As suddenly as it came, it disappeared. I mean what the medics had said was Papa’s flu (not the swine one). So early on Wednesday, my little guy (a description he would rather I did not use) got up and got dressed for school. Wow! The sun shines after all. I would have preferred breaking him back into the scheme of things gradually but here he was ready to roll. So after making sure he had his multivitamin, vit-C, his Buckley’s (that awful tasting but efficacious cough concoction) and of course something to eat, I let him roll.
Meanwhile I made sure my cell phone was by me at all times just in the event that he got to school and had a relapse (is that word correct in this context?). Three hours after, no phone call. Four, five, six hours later still no phone call. God is with us! At 3.05pm, the door bell rang and it was Papa. He had made it through the school day but that wasn’t all. He had also cemented his place on the school’s track team and would be representing the school in 100m as well as being the relay anchor. See how much difference a day can make. He did look very tired though so I pleaded with him to have his lunch and take a snooze. I also made him a glass of smoothie as additional refreshment.
Wednesday night was youth night for the boys. Danju wanted to go for it and so did Papa. Between you and me, I did not feel comfortable allowing Papa to attend – the cautious daddy not wanting to push his son’s recovery.
Sampi meanwhile had an art exhibition at school and I had to go take a look at my girl’s works. From Sampi’s art exhibition, she and I went over and picked the boys (yes Papa twisted my arm into allowing him go for youth).
Meanwhile I forgot to mention that because Papa was not in his elements on Tuesday he had missed Tuesday night’s football practice. I got an email on Thursday in the morning that an extra practice had been scheduled for Thursday night to further prep his Atom team (who meanwhile had been baptized Oakville Titan Renegades) for a scrimmage fixed for Saturday. If we had not missed the Tuesday practice or his position on the team was not key, I would have passed on the Thursday one so Papa could recover some more.
Anyway we went for the Thursday practice but left after about 70 minutes when he got tired. The upside was that he had shown his team he would battle with them on Saturday.
By the way, I sometimes wonder why football teams (not soccer please, so don’t ask me what I thought of the Chelsea versus Barcelona game and of the refereeing) have intimidating names – Renegades, Bengals( Cincinnati) , Buccaneers (Tampa), Chargers (San Diego), Packers (Green Bay), Raiders (Oakland) etc. You can leave a comment on this blog if you have an opinion.
Today was Talent Day show at Papa’s school and tomorrow is the scrimmage I touched on earlier. Wish us well will you?
Good night now and keep your eyes open for more …
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Roller Coaster
I was about to say that last week was largely uneventful (which is not a bad thing) until yesterday.
The week had gone fairly routinely with more showings of our home (I pray this comes to a close soon because it’s beginning to tell on my kids what with the disruptions and all), the weekly youth programs, football practice on Tuesday, the occasional character building chats and stories with the kids, making lunch and rushing everybody off to bed at nights inter alia; until Saturday morning when Danju woke up with, wait for it – sore throat and a headache. Oh dear! Not at this time with the threat of the swine flu now christened H1N1 flu after protestations from pig farmers for a name change because their sales were plummeting.
Papa had his football practice scheduled for Saturday at midday so I had to take Danju promptly to a walk-in clinic. The doctor saw nothing to worry about (don’t they often say that to you only to recant if you threatened to seek a second opinion?) and just took some swab for the lab. To deal with the sore throat, Danju has been gargling with saline solution and sucking on minty hard candies.
Papa’s football practice then followed and it was drills and practicing plays- running the ball and a couple of throws. As a running back, he’s in the thick of things and took a few hard tackles.
Today being the first Sunday in the month was to be our usual Mass in Igbo ( an activity which our community in Toronto began some 2+ years ago that helps with ensuring a sustenance of our mother tongue and an opportunity for bonding as well). We were all looking forward to it.
It was therefore unexpected when Papa started running a temperature late on Saturday night and in spite of a cold bath and Tylenol, it just would not subside.
Needless to say he hardly slept a wink and so did ‘old ranger’. Implicit in that therefore ( a line that I have borrowed from one of my old undergraduate teachers) was that we could not go for the Igbo Mass. In its place we were at the emergency ward of the Oakville hospital. As fate would have it, a childhood friend (T-baz) was scheduled to visit with us in Oakville today so he unwittingly had to be part of the train that hit the emergency ward.
Once we arrived the hospital, the usual inquisition began. Had we visited Mexico in recent times? Had we been in contact with someone who may have visited Mexico recently? Had we been to a pig farm farm in Alberta (where it is alleged, a man had infected some pigs on the farm. Funny it was a man infecting pigs and not the other way round) Our answers were negative and yet because my little guy was running a temperature and by this time had began coughing a bit, a face mask was quickly handed to him. Could we have suddenly become another statistic for this flu? I reject it in Jesus’ name! (apologies to Nigerian new generation churches)
Tests after tests were run and a chest x-ray was quickly done. To our relief, it was nothing but a minor viral infection and we were let go but requested to get some cough medicine and some rest.
My baby boy is now sleeping and so are Sampi (the only woman standing) and Danju (who it seems is back to his usual self). Siya of course is still in Edmonton but had been on the phone many times today and for long periods as we waited at the emergency triage.
So here we are. I am tired and my bed calls. We’d keep communicating.
The week had gone fairly routinely with more showings of our home (I pray this comes to a close soon because it’s beginning to tell on my kids what with the disruptions and all), the weekly youth programs, football practice on Tuesday, the occasional character building chats and stories with the kids, making lunch and rushing everybody off to bed at nights inter alia; until Saturday morning when Danju woke up with, wait for it – sore throat and a headache. Oh dear! Not at this time with the threat of the swine flu now christened H1N1 flu after protestations from pig farmers for a name change because their sales were plummeting.
Papa had his football practice scheduled for Saturday at midday so I had to take Danju promptly to a walk-in clinic. The doctor saw nothing to worry about (don’t they often say that to you only to recant if you threatened to seek a second opinion?) and just took some swab for the lab. To deal with the sore throat, Danju has been gargling with saline solution and sucking on minty hard candies.
Papa’s football practice then followed and it was drills and practicing plays- running the ball and a couple of throws. As a running back, he’s in the thick of things and took a few hard tackles.
Today being the first Sunday in the month was to be our usual Mass in Igbo ( an activity which our community in Toronto began some 2+ years ago that helps with ensuring a sustenance of our mother tongue and an opportunity for bonding as well). We were all looking forward to it.
It was therefore unexpected when Papa started running a temperature late on Saturday night and in spite of a cold bath and Tylenol, it just would not subside.
Needless to say he hardly slept a wink and so did ‘old ranger’. Implicit in that therefore ( a line that I have borrowed from one of my old undergraduate teachers) was that we could not go for the Igbo Mass. In its place we were at the emergency ward of the Oakville hospital. As fate would have it, a childhood friend (T-baz) was scheduled to visit with us in Oakville today so he unwittingly had to be part of the train that hit the emergency ward.
Once we arrived the hospital, the usual inquisition began. Had we visited Mexico in recent times? Had we been in contact with someone who may have visited Mexico recently? Had we been to a pig farm farm in Alberta (where it is alleged, a man had infected some pigs on the farm. Funny it was a man infecting pigs and not the other way round) Our answers were negative and yet because my little guy was running a temperature and by this time had began coughing a bit, a face mask was quickly handed to him. Could we have suddenly become another statistic for this flu? I reject it in Jesus’ name! (apologies to Nigerian new generation churches)
Tests after tests were run and a chest x-ray was quickly done. To our relief, it was nothing but a minor viral infection and we were let go but requested to get some cough medicine and some rest.
My baby boy is now sleeping and so are Sampi (the only woman standing) and Danju (who it seems is back to his usual self). Siya of course is still in Edmonton but had been on the phone many times today and for long periods as we waited at the emergency triage.
So here we are. I am tired and my bed calls. We’d keep communicating.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Sign of Times to Come?
I don’t want to sound like a cracked or broken record (I mean those old black 32 rpm discs that were used in Grundig gramophones. When I hear of ‘sound boxes’ or in more modern term ‘boom boxes’, the picture that forms in my mind is that of such granddad black record disc plates) but perhaps it’s only fair to let you know that Danju’s confirmation went without any hitches.
It seemed a bit odd to see teenagers in North America stand up to respond to quizzes from the Bishop. I thought they said we are a liberal generation. It’s interesting how we tweak definitions and universal beliefs to suit our mood of the day. A bishop was to preside over the day’s event at Mass (‘church’ or ‘worship’to all non-Catholics) and so the confirmandi class was told that as a mark of respect they had to stand when responding to questions from the bishop. Does this smirk of hypocrisy? Yet once the event was over, the same students were free to sit or if they were already standing, were free to have their hands in the often sagging pants (now this issue of sagging trousers will be the story for another day) when talking with those much older than themselves. Do I smell hypocrisy.
I am not about to pontificate (my kids think I’m guilty of that already at home) but growing up back in Nigeria (please don’t tell me it was a different world at that time) you got the scolding of your life if you displayed any mannerisms that were considered disrespectful or infradig... It could range from raising your voice, talking back, daring to eye-ball the older person admonishing you, having your hands in the pockets of your trousers etc. The list was endless. Call it ‘abuse’ of the young person and I’d say I beg to differ! Those were the values that have stayed with some of us up to this point.
I have a Nigerian flag right at the entrance to my home and it ‘tells’ my children that once you step in through the door, you are in ‘Nigeria’ and the rules are different. I believe in giving kids two basic gifts - wings and roots. Wings- so they can aspire to the full potentials of their God given talents. Roots- because they should never forget whom they are and where we come from.
The children and I took another step today in our spring cleaning exercise and it was a pure team effort.
As I write, they are all away at a youth party in honour of their youth coordinator who’s moving to another assignment. Good for them.
What it also means is that I am all by myself, home alone. With the wifey so far away, I am thinking is this how it will all be at some point in life when the children are all grown and gone? It will just be us alone, older and hopefully healthy enough to carry on with the activities of daily living (no swine flu or SARS or any such pandemic. I sincerely hope). Life is indeed a circle. You are born, you go through life and then the hens come home to roost, you go back to your creator.
As I continue to meditate (what else should I be doing at such a time?) I thank you for keeping a date with this blog. Let me go go pick the children from the youth party.
We’d keep sharing.. Good night.
It seemed a bit odd to see teenagers in North America stand up to respond to quizzes from the Bishop. I thought they said we are a liberal generation. It’s interesting how we tweak definitions and universal beliefs to suit our mood of the day. A bishop was to preside over the day’s event at Mass (‘church’ or ‘worship’to all non-Catholics) and so the confirmandi class was told that as a mark of respect they had to stand when responding to questions from the bishop. Does this smirk of hypocrisy? Yet once the event was over, the same students were free to sit or if they were already standing, were free to have their hands in the often sagging pants (now this issue of sagging trousers will be the story for another day) when talking with those much older than themselves. Do I smell hypocrisy.
I am not about to pontificate (my kids think I’m guilty of that already at home) but growing up back in Nigeria (please don’t tell me it was a different world at that time) you got the scolding of your life if you displayed any mannerisms that were considered disrespectful or infradig... It could range from raising your voice, talking back, daring to eye-ball the older person admonishing you, having your hands in the pockets of your trousers etc. The list was endless. Call it ‘abuse’ of the young person and I’d say I beg to differ! Those were the values that have stayed with some of us up to this point.
I have a Nigerian flag right at the entrance to my home and it ‘tells’ my children that once you step in through the door, you are in ‘Nigeria’ and the rules are different. I believe in giving kids two basic gifts - wings and roots. Wings- so they can aspire to the full potentials of their God given talents. Roots- because they should never forget whom they are and where we come from.
The children and I took another step today in our spring cleaning exercise and it was a pure team effort.
As I write, they are all away at a youth party in honour of their youth coordinator who’s moving to another assignment. Good for them.
What it also means is that I am all by myself, home alone. With the wifey so far away, I am thinking is this how it will all be at some point in life when the children are all grown and gone? It will just be us alone, older and hopefully healthy enough to carry on with the activities of daily living (no swine flu or SARS or any such pandemic. I sincerely hope). Life is indeed a circle. You are born, you go through life and then the hens come home to roost, you go back to your creator.
As I continue to meditate (what else should I be doing at such a time?) I thank you for keeping a date with this blog. Let me go go pick the children from the youth party.
We’d keep sharing.. Good night.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Canada –Nigeria-Canada-USA-Canada : all in three weeks!
I have just walked in through the door following a three day trip to Dallas,TX. I am beginning to feel like Gulliver (as in Gulliver’s Travels) or Ajala ( as in Ajala whom the stories have it travelled all over the ‘world’)
For the past three weeks, I have virtually lived out of a suitcase and have gone from Canada to Nigeria (touching many cities as we went for my father-in-law’s funeral) back to Canada (resting for a couple of days) before jetting off to the States on Monday this week and returning to Canada this evening. In all of this, my kids have been very supportive and loving.
If you are wondering why I went to Dallas, I will tell you. It definitely was not a tea party. As a matter of fact, it was both obligatory and out of sibling love. My younger sister (I hope I have her permission to mention this) was to have a surgical procedure and as the head of our family in the Northern Hemisphere, I had to be with her as she was wheeled into the operating room. So to Dallas I went.The surgery went well and she has been discharged and is now recuperating at home. To God be the glory both for a successful surgery and for journey mercies. While she was in hospital, it was great to experience some outpouring of love from her friends and colleagues. At some point, her room did look like a flower shop. Her team from work was both interesting and intriguing. They were very expressive and to the point. Should I have been surprised? Perhaps not, knowing they were all recruiters and probing is part of how they make their money. I thank them ( forgive me if I omit or misspell some names - Gayle, Thyaniga, Kim, Phyllis) for taking the time to visit with my sis in hospital.
Before my Dallas trip, I had mentioned that Danju was preparing for his confirmation which comes up this Sunday and that a pre-confirmation rehearsal was scheduled for Saturday last week. It is with a great feeling of joy spiced with a tinge of humility that we went to the same suit store where ‘old ranger’ shops for his suits to get a pair of suits for Danju’s confirmation. My little guy is fast becoming a man! Soon we would be sharing many more items (he’s the second tallest in our nuclear family and his becoming the tallest is only a matter of time) and scheduling who drives what car.
This is a good part of the Diary of a Loving Daddy and I can only dream of many more good parts to be experienced as we journey through life.
It’s nice to be back and we shall keep the updates.
For the past three weeks, I have virtually lived out of a suitcase and have gone from Canada to Nigeria (touching many cities as we went for my father-in-law’s funeral) back to Canada (resting for a couple of days) before jetting off to the States on Monday this week and returning to Canada this evening. In all of this, my kids have been very supportive and loving.
If you are wondering why I went to Dallas, I will tell you. It definitely was not a tea party. As a matter of fact, it was both obligatory and out of sibling love. My younger sister (I hope I have her permission to mention this) was to have a surgical procedure and as the head of our family in the Northern Hemisphere, I had to be with her as she was wheeled into the operating room. So to Dallas I went.The surgery went well and she has been discharged and is now recuperating at home. To God be the glory both for a successful surgery and for journey mercies. While she was in hospital, it was great to experience some outpouring of love from her friends and colleagues. At some point, her room did look like a flower shop. Her team from work was both interesting and intriguing. They were very expressive and to the point. Should I have been surprised? Perhaps not, knowing they were all recruiters and probing is part of how they make their money. I thank them ( forgive me if I omit or misspell some names - Gayle, Thyaniga, Kim, Phyllis) for taking the time to visit with my sis in hospital.
Before my Dallas trip, I had mentioned that Danju was preparing for his confirmation which comes up this Sunday and that a pre-confirmation rehearsal was scheduled for Saturday last week. It is with a great feeling of joy spiced with a tinge of humility that we went to the same suit store where ‘old ranger’ shops for his suits to get a pair of suits for Danju’s confirmation. My little guy is fast becoming a man! Soon we would be sharing many more items (he’s the second tallest in our nuclear family and his becoming the tallest is only a matter of time) and scheduling who drives what car.
This is a good part of the Diary of a Loving Daddy and I can only dream of many more good parts to be experienced as we journey through life.
It’s nice to be back and we shall keep the updates.
Friday, April 17, 2009
"The Bases are Loaded"
Yesterday was an odd day at the gym and left me wondering whether it was just a one off or is my biological clock begging for some attention.
I did my stretches as always and then set about working my triceps with the cable pull downs as a first program. Funnily I was out of sorts and could only pull a fraction of my usual limit. I waved it off and tried again. Same result! Finito! I was done. I went home wondering whether the time has finally come to slow down or what. Those who know me know that I love to hit the gym. It is like an addiction. So I was not a happy camper yesterday. I went home and resolved to go back today and see what happens.
Relief relief. I went back to the gym today and it was a whole new ball game. Was in my usual elements and hit the weights hard. I feel much better.
I got a request yesterday from my realtors for a market review meeting and today we met. Our discussion ranged from the mundane to the sublime covering such areas as recent real estate market movements, competitive action ( of other similar homes being listed in Oakville), how to pre-empt competitive action etc. We talked about SunTzu’s – “the art of war” and also of Buy-Ology by Martin Lindstrom (not sure if I got the spelling right.) Now you are wondering where all this is leading to? Is it not just selling of a home? It is all of that and more. When you consider that a home is perhaps the biggest single ticket item most households ever get to buy, then you can excuse all the energy (both mental and physical ) going into this decision. Finally after going back and forth a few times, we reached an agreement for a minor (is 5% really minor when the base figure is in six digits?) downward price adjustment. In simple language, we just cut our price by 5%!
By the time this meeting was over, I was running late to get home and fix lunch for Sampi and Papa. What a shame! I put a metal to the pedal and was home in a heart bit. Despite all my best efforts, I arrived four minutes after Sampi had left for her baby sitting job. I owe her one now.
Sampi and I have just returned from grocery shopping and by the way she and I had a lengthy daddy/daughter chat in the car because of a party invite she came to seek permission for. Teenagers! Teenagers! If only they could see as a far as some parents can. The good thing is that we both agreed at the end why this was one party to miss.
Danju has his confirmation rehearsal tomorrow and Papa also has his football practice tomorrow as well, both events taking place at opposite ends of the Halton Region. To avoid cutting it close, we had to do an inventory this night to be sure nothing fell through the cracks. This included getting Papa’s football helmet adjusted and his new mouth guard to fit his teeth. We also took care of what healthy snacks to take with us and what waste-free lunch to prepare.
The above done, it was time to pray and persuade the children to get some sleep instead of watching TV or playing nintendo Wii or Xbox 360. Not an easy persuasion if you have kids of their ages. Since Sampi will be home tomorrow while I’m out with the boys for the two events mentioned earlier, the lot of spring cleaning the basement fell on her.
The boys and I will pitch in and also clean the garage on our return.
It’s a loaded calendar as you can see, so I need to go catch some rest too and dear Diary will be back tomorrow. Good night.
I did my stretches as always and then set about working my triceps with the cable pull downs as a first program. Funnily I was out of sorts and could only pull a fraction of my usual limit. I waved it off and tried again. Same result! Finito! I was done. I went home wondering whether the time has finally come to slow down or what. Those who know me know that I love to hit the gym. It is like an addiction. So I was not a happy camper yesterday. I went home and resolved to go back today and see what happens.
Relief relief. I went back to the gym today and it was a whole new ball game. Was in my usual elements and hit the weights hard. I feel much better.
I got a request yesterday from my realtors for a market review meeting and today we met. Our discussion ranged from the mundane to the sublime covering such areas as recent real estate market movements, competitive action ( of other similar homes being listed in Oakville), how to pre-empt competitive action etc. We talked about SunTzu’s – “the art of war” and also of Buy-Ology by Martin Lindstrom (not sure if I got the spelling right.) Now you are wondering where all this is leading to? Is it not just selling of a home? It is all of that and more. When you consider that a home is perhaps the biggest single ticket item most households ever get to buy, then you can excuse all the energy (both mental and physical ) going into this decision. Finally after going back and forth a few times, we reached an agreement for a minor (is 5% really minor when the base figure is in six digits?) downward price adjustment. In simple language, we just cut our price by 5%!
By the time this meeting was over, I was running late to get home and fix lunch for Sampi and Papa. What a shame! I put a metal to the pedal and was home in a heart bit. Despite all my best efforts, I arrived four minutes after Sampi had left for her baby sitting job. I owe her one now.
Sampi and I have just returned from grocery shopping and by the way she and I had a lengthy daddy/daughter chat in the car because of a party invite she came to seek permission for. Teenagers! Teenagers! If only they could see as a far as some parents can. The good thing is that we both agreed at the end why this was one party to miss.
Danju has his confirmation rehearsal tomorrow and Papa also has his football practice tomorrow as well, both events taking place at opposite ends of the Halton Region. To avoid cutting it close, we had to do an inventory this night to be sure nothing fell through the cracks. This included getting Papa’s football helmet adjusted and his new mouth guard to fit his teeth. We also took care of what healthy snacks to take with us and what waste-free lunch to prepare.
The above done, it was time to pray and persuade the children to get some sleep instead of watching TV or playing nintendo Wii or Xbox 360. Not an easy persuasion if you have kids of their ages. Since Sampi will be home tomorrow while I’m out with the boys for the two events mentioned earlier, the lot of spring cleaning the basement fell on her.
The boys and I will pitch in and also clean the garage on our return.
It’s a loaded calendar as you can see, so I need to go catch some rest too and dear Diary will be back tomorrow. Good night.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
The Calm after the Storm
The children went back to school today after the Easter break and it was as if mother nature smiled on them with a 9 degrees centigrade clear weather. On my part I was crunching some numbers at my desk and arranging receipts and other supporting documents- duh it’s tax season. My least favourite part of the year! It has been said that only two things are constant in North America – death and taxes. There’s no escaping both.
I was mid way into that activity when the phone rang. It was the real estate agency. Not again!!! Someone wanted to see the house for 2.30pm and a second prospect would like to come in at 5pm. Do I really have any choice in this matter, after I was the one that agreed to list our home. So quickly I did the routine checks and drove to Millbank park to give them room for the 2.30pm showing.
Papa and Sampi got back at 3pm and by 3.30pm Sampi was off for her newly found two-hour baby-sitting job at our neighbour’s. Oh I forgot to tell you. Our neighbours have two young kids Jake and Avery and with their mum returning to work, there was the issue of who would stay with the kids when they got off school at 3.30pm until 5.30pm when either of their parents would get home. Sampi had done some baby-sitting before so when the neighbours came calling, it was a fairly easy decision for me and for Sampi, the fact that it came with ten bucks an hour was not bad at all. So Sampi now has a job for every day of the week minus weekends. That also means that she has to manage her time effectively so that her chores at home would not suffer. Talk of building character, this is how it starts.
The two other events of note today were Sampi going for her youth activities at church and Papa’s football (not soccer please) practice this evening for 2 hours. It was the full works with complete equipment, drills and some scrimmage. For those of us who live on this side of the hemisphere, no game beats what is often called “America’s game”. There is the popular saying that you should never come between a man and his football. Do I hear my fellow Canucks asking what has come over me. For Canadians, it is ice hockey. To the best of my knowledge, it is the only professional sport where fisticuffs is allowed until someone is knocked to the ice. The only game with legal enforcers and where a broken nose or an incomplete dentition is a mark of true glory. That is our game and my team is The Leafs! Most people outside of North America would scoff at both football and ice hockey as two very violent sports. We say competitive and physical. Both bring out the passion in us and with a full dose of adrenalin.
With this we come to the end of the Diary for today. Sleep tight and see you all tomorrow.
I was mid way into that activity when the phone rang. It was the real estate agency. Not again!!! Someone wanted to see the house for 2.30pm and a second prospect would like to come in at 5pm. Do I really have any choice in this matter, after I was the one that agreed to list our home. So quickly I did the routine checks and drove to Millbank park to give them room for the 2.30pm showing.
Papa and Sampi got back at 3pm and by 3.30pm Sampi was off for her newly found two-hour baby-sitting job at our neighbour’s. Oh I forgot to tell you. Our neighbours have two young kids Jake and Avery and with their mum returning to work, there was the issue of who would stay with the kids when they got off school at 3.30pm until 5.30pm when either of their parents would get home. Sampi had done some baby-sitting before so when the neighbours came calling, it was a fairly easy decision for me and for Sampi, the fact that it came with ten bucks an hour was not bad at all. So Sampi now has a job for every day of the week minus weekends. That also means that she has to manage her time effectively so that her chores at home would not suffer. Talk of building character, this is how it starts.
The two other events of note today were Sampi going for her youth activities at church and Papa’s football (not soccer please) practice this evening for 2 hours. It was the full works with complete equipment, drills and some scrimmage. For those of us who live on this side of the hemisphere, no game beats what is often called “America’s game”. There is the popular saying that you should never come between a man and his football. Do I hear my fellow Canucks asking what has come over me. For Canadians, it is ice hockey. To the best of my knowledge, it is the only professional sport where fisticuffs is allowed until someone is knocked to the ice. The only game with legal enforcers and where a broken nose or an incomplete dentition is a mark of true glory. That is our game and my team is The Leafs! Most people outside of North America would scoff at both football and ice hockey as two very violent sports. We say competitive and physical. Both bring out the passion in us and with a full dose of adrenalin.
With this we come to the end of the Diary for today. Sleep tight and see you all tomorrow.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Some Scary Moments
We got back to the warm embrace of our children in Oakville after a short lay over in Lagos. Talking of Lagos, I must record my gratitude to Kamar, whom I like to call in full - Kamarudeen Bakrin going back to our days as colleagues in Colgate Palmolive for responding positively to my request at very short notice the night I got to Oniru estate. Col Ibim Lawson of the Military Police was very kind in donating his personal car and driver to take me to the airport. It was a very emotional reunion with my former team in the wealth management group in Ikoyi.
The flight back to Toronto through Amsterdam and Detroit was largely uneventful. My poor angels - Sampi, Danju and Papa were real troopers and held the forte on the home front just as they promised they would. God bless their young hearts.
Early on holy Saturday, we tidied up the house for yet another house showing, now this is getting real serious. I mean when will we get a reasonable offer on the house so we can get our lives back. So to IKEA we went for brunch and thereafter I dropped off at Appleby football field with Papa for his weekend practice. Siya, Sampi and Danju then ran along for grocery shopping.
Easter Sunday was warm and nice. Lunch was sumptuous and tasty. At times one wonders how the farmers get the poultry so big. The turkey was so big that getting it out of the oven was a major event. This though was one fight I had to win and win it I did.
Siya's flight back to her Edmonton base was initially scheduled for 8.00 am on Easter Sunday but to get more family time, we changed it to an evening departure. With lunch over we drove to Pearson International for Siya's six hour flight to Edmonton through Calgary.
You can therefore imagine how scary it was for us when the phone rang at about 6.15am EST (which is 4.15am Edmonton time) and the voice at the other end asking if Siya was still in Oakville because she was yet to arrive the home where she stays in Edmonton. If she were a truant teenager, I could have assumed she was up to some pranks. Phone calls to her sister in Ottawa and a physical check of her room by her host family did not provide any clues as to her whereabouts. My anxiety was heightened when the airline confirmed the flight had landed in Edmonton the night before at about 11pm. Now it was time to let the kids (who were still sleeping) know their mum was 'missing in transit'. I thereafter contacted the cops. The challenge was how to classify my report. Was it a case of a runaway adult or a missing person? The police service in charge of Pearson International airport was notified and so was the Edmonton police. A search had begun stretching from Ontario to Alberta. The kids and I were on standby and so was my friend in Edmonton, Omodu.
A couple of minutes after 10am, it was Omodu again on the phone. Siya had been found, alive and safe! She said she got off the airplane and not wanting to come knocking on their door at such an unholy hour, had checked into a hotel and tried calling Omodu's family but the voice mail was full. If only she had bothered to call us in Oakville this mild drama perhaps could have been avoided. We all hope the lesson is not lost on us.
With the end of today's scary moments, I say bye for now.
The flight back to Toronto through Amsterdam and Detroit was largely uneventful. My poor angels - Sampi, Danju and Papa were real troopers and held the forte on the home front just as they promised they would. God bless their young hearts.
Early on holy Saturday, we tidied up the house for yet another house showing, now this is getting real serious. I mean when will we get a reasonable offer on the house so we can get our lives back. So to IKEA we went for brunch and thereafter I dropped off at Appleby football field with Papa for his weekend practice. Siya, Sampi and Danju then ran along for grocery shopping.
Easter Sunday was warm and nice. Lunch was sumptuous and tasty. At times one wonders how the farmers get the poultry so big. The turkey was so big that getting it out of the oven was a major event. This though was one fight I had to win and win it I did.
Siya's flight back to her Edmonton base was initially scheduled for 8.00 am on Easter Sunday but to get more family time, we changed it to an evening departure. With lunch over we drove to Pearson International for Siya's six hour flight to Edmonton through Calgary.
You can therefore imagine how scary it was for us when the phone rang at about 6.15am EST (which is 4.15am Edmonton time) and the voice at the other end asking if Siya was still in Oakville because she was yet to arrive the home where she stays in Edmonton. If she were a truant teenager, I could have assumed she was up to some pranks. Phone calls to her sister in Ottawa and a physical check of her room by her host family did not provide any clues as to her whereabouts. My anxiety was heightened when the airline confirmed the flight had landed in Edmonton the night before at about 11pm. Now it was time to let the kids (who were still sleeping) know their mum was 'missing in transit'. I thereafter contacted the cops. The challenge was how to classify my report. Was it a case of a runaway adult or a missing person? The police service in charge of Pearson International airport was notified and so was the Edmonton police. A search had begun stretching from Ontario to Alberta. The kids and I were on standby and so was my friend in Edmonton, Omodu.
A couple of minutes after 10am, it was Omodu again on the phone. Siya had been found, alive and safe! She said she got off the airplane and not wanting to come knocking on their door at such an unholy hour, had checked into a hotel and tried calling Omodu's family but the voice mail was full. If only she had bothered to call us in Oakville this mild drama perhaps could have been avoided. We all hope the lesson is not lost on us.
With the end of today's scary moments, I say bye for now.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Cold Treatment and Confusion
With the funeral over, I stayed back at my in-law's for one additional day to provide some support for my spouse. I think I need to offer some background info at this point. Since my father-in-law passed on to eternal glory on March 9, I was yet to see Siya (that's my pet name for my wife) shed a tear as one would expect of someone who's lost a parent. I know she's grieving internally but some outpouring of emotions is also healthy. I was therefore ( and I still am) concerned that all the pent up grief could explode anytime and that could be a lethal situation. So I stayed back at my in-law's such that if Siya broke down, I would be within easy reach to lend a hand.
Meanwhile, she was showing signs of mood swings. One minute she would avoid eye contact with me and the next she would point me in the direction of a room in the event that I needed to 'turn in'. It breaks my heart to see her this way. I feel even worse and incapacitated not knowing how to impact her heart and mind at this time. There is also a part of me that is wondering whether she is mad at me or if all of this is her reaction to the loss of her dad.
Out of frustration, I called Sampi, Danju and Papa in the hope that hearing their voices would contribute to a Positive Mental Attitude which I was desparately looking for at that point. I just could not wait for the day to end and end it did eventually. Phew...
The next day - Palm Sunday began rather slowly. You had the odd trickle of visitors who missed the funeral of the day before but who wanted to register their condolences nonetheless. Some it would seem out of political correctness and others displaying a more sincere mien. The hours went so slowly and I took to praying silently to occupy my mind and also beg for God's forgiveness for missing Mass on Palm Sunday.
About 3pm, I set out to catch a cab for Onitsha so I could go make the rounds and thank my kinsmen for honouring me with their attendance at my father-in-law's funeral.
Siya meanwhile was on her way to go reconcile accounts with the local equivalent of the beer store and LCBO combined for the drinks used during the funeral. I think it was pure providence because I got to the Okigwe park and there was not a single cab in sight for me to rent.
I must thank Hyacinth the driver who had been seconded albeit temporarily by 'Igwe Nwanyi' to assist Siya with her runs during the whole period of the funeral. He it was who eventually took me on the two hour long journey back to Onitsha. Please do not ask me about the state of the roads. We got to Onitsha safely and poor Hyacinth had to make the journey back to Ihube where Siya was.
Siya joined me in Onitsha at my parent's home the next day. On Tuesday we made a 'pit stop' to His Majesty the Obi of Onitsha to thank him for his continuing royal support and that of Igwe Nwanyi before heading to Enugu to board the Aero flight that took us to Lagos.
Keep a date with the Diary and more will follow as we take you through our journey to 'Eden'.
Caveat: You are reading this now because it was written when I was on the road with limited access to the internet and so is being published late.
Meanwhile, she was showing signs of mood swings. One minute she would avoid eye contact with me and the next she would point me in the direction of a room in the event that I needed to 'turn in'. It breaks my heart to see her this way. I feel even worse and incapacitated not knowing how to impact her heart and mind at this time. There is also a part of me that is wondering whether she is mad at me or if all of this is her reaction to the loss of her dad.
Out of frustration, I called Sampi, Danju and Papa in the hope that hearing their voices would contribute to a Positive Mental Attitude which I was desparately looking for at that point. I just could not wait for the day to end and end it did eventually. Phew...
The next day - Palm Sunday began rather slowly. You had the odd trickle of visitors who missed the funeral of the day before but who wanted to register their condolences nonetheless. Some it would seem out of political correctness and others displaying a more sincere mien. The hours went so slowly and I took to praying silently to occupy my mind and also beg for God's forgiveness for missing Mass on Palm Sunday.
About 3pm, I set out to catch a cab for Onitsha so I could go make the rounds and thank my kinsmen for honouring me with their attendance at my father-in-law's funeral.
Siya meanwhile was on her way to go reconcile accounts with the local equivalent of the beer store and LCBO combined for the drinks used during the funeral. I think it was pure providence because I got to the Okigwe park and there was not a single cab in sight for me to rent.
I must thank Hyacinth the driver who had been seconded albeit temporarily by 'Igwe Nwanyi' to assist Siya with her runs during the whole period of the funeral. He it was who eventually took me on the two hour long journey back to Onitsha. Please do not ask me about the state of the roads. We got to Onitsha safely and poor Hyacinth had to make the journey back to Ihube where Siya was.
Siya joined me in Onitsha at my parent's home the next day. On Tuesday we made a 'pit stop' to His Majesty the Obi of Onitsha to thank him for his continuing royal support and that of Igwe Nwanyi before heading to Enugu to board the Aero flight that took us to Lagos.
Keep a date with the Diary and more will follow as we take you through our journey to 'Eden'.
Caveat: You are reading this now because it was written when I was on the road with limited access to the internet and so is being published late.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Wake keeping and Funeral
It was a bee hive of activities in my father-in-law's country home (cottage to some of you who have lived in North America for too long) with arrangements in full swing for the wake keeping which was to hold that night of Friday April 3.
It was quite an experience. My father-in-law died an ECK member and faithful . The 'eckists' (I hope that's safe to say) were there in their numbers to honour one of their own; and honour him they did. It was an all night wake keeping complete with sing-songs, HU chants, testimonies, dances both modern and traditional. I had attended an ECK wedding before (that of my friend and brother-in-law Onoch to his lovely Kezzy) and now I was witnessing an ECK wakekeeping with an ECK funeral soon to follow the next day.
As we got tired, we stole away to go get some shut eye and like Tonnie had told me, at funerals, people sleep wherever they find space. So I secured a sofa to myself and old ranger slept as the main character did in the movie "Our man Flint" but this time with my shoes on as well. It was fun.
Early on the D-day, I had a shower,brushed my teeth, changed my pants and shirt for a traditional attire and filed out to the field where the funeral worship was to take place. In attendance were the academia, retired officers and gentlemen, in-laws from Onitsha (yes my people, complete with a dance troupe accompanied by my parents and kinsmen), Okpila, Mbaise, Uzoakoli, Owerri etc. Distinguished Lords from Corsica, Kingmaker, SONA, Okwudili Enendu and many others.
Prof as I called him when he was with us, was going home in style. He had earned it. He deserved it. I will still keep my promise of dedicating a full day of this blog to him in honour and recognition of his academic prowess. I will .
At this point though, I must thank all who have paid tributes to this erudite scholar whose death is a great loss to Nigeria. For all those who sent in tributes and whose tributes could not be captured in the publication that was circulated on April 4, 2009, I say you have not gone unnoticed. Mine met with the same fate too. If you want to refresh your mind on the many tributes, go to "Celebrating the Life of Professor Adiele Afigbo" on the Facebook web site. It may not be in my place to say, but please accept my gratitude.
I must now go get some rest as I am still travelling in Nigeria and as a matter of fact, have just arrived Lagos aboard an Aero airplane from Enugu.
Thanks for keeping a date with the Diary of a Loving Daddy. Expect more.
It was quite an experience. My father-in-law died an ECK member and faithful . The 'eckists' (I hope that's safe to say) were there in their numbers to honour one of their own; and honour him they did. It was an all night wake keeping complete with sing-songs, HU chants, testimonies, dances both modern and traditional. I had attended an ECK wedding before (that of my friend and brother-in-law Onoch to his lovely Kezzy) and now I was witnessing an ECK wakekeeping with an ECK funeral soon to follow the next day.
As we got tired, we stole away to go get some shut eye and like Tonnie had told me, at funerals, people sleep wherever they find space. So I secured a sofa to myself and old ranger slept as the main character did in the movie "Our man Flint" but this time with my shoes on as well. It was fun.
Early on the D-day, I had a shower,brushed my teeth, changed my pants and shirt for a traditional attire and filed out to the field where the funeral worship was to take place. In attendance were the academia, retired officers and gentlemen, in-laws from Onitsha (yes my people, complete with a dance troupe accompanied by my parents and kinsmen), Okpila, Mbaise, Uzoakoli, Owerri etc. Distinguished Lords from Corsica, Kingmaker, SONA, Okwudili Enendu and many others.
Prof as I called him when he was with us, was going home in style. He had earned it. He deserved it. I will still keep my promise of dedicating a full day of this blog to him in honour and recognition of his academic prowess. I will .
At this point though, I must thank all who have paid tributes to this erudite scholar whose death is a great loss to Nigeria. For all those who sent in tributes and whose tributes could not be captured in the publication that was circulated on April 4, 2009, I say you have not gone unnoticed. Mine met with the same fate too. If you want to refresh your mind on the many tributes, go to "Celebrating the Life of Professor Adiele Afigbo" on the Facebook web site. It may not be in my place to say, but please accept my gratitude.
I must now go get some rest as I am still travelling in Nigeria and as a matter of fact, have just arrived Lagos aboard an Aero airplane from Enugu.
Thanks for keeping a date with the Diary of a Loving Daddy. Expect more.
From Toronto to Ihube
So having gone through Customs and Immigration, I boarded the flight out of Pearson International. As if rewarding me for taking the leap of faith in leaving my children on their own, I got bumped up into the Executive Business Class on the first leg of the trip. This was without my asking for it and also without a dent on my frequent flyer points. Not bad at all. Did I speak too soon? I had just settled in nicely into my seat and was about getting my welcome glass of juice, when the guy sitting next to me knocked the glass over and unto my laps. Boy....
since my seat belt was already strapped on, I could not move fast enough to escape the 'shower' so I got soaked. Now imagine for a moment how I would have looked with orange juice dripping down my pants and both the culprit and the flight attendants offering their apologies. Eventually I got wiped down sort of and ended up smelling like orange juice until I arrived Nigeria after yes about 23 hours!
I slept in my Lekki apartment that night and very early on April 2, got a cab, did some banking transactions (not with the 'happy bank' that is still denying me access to my chequing account in the name of sorting out some minor issues) and raced to catch a flight to Enugu where I stayed overnight and worked the phone reminding my friends, associates, acquaintances et al about not allowing me "walk alone" during my father-in-law's funeral.
On April 3, I continued by road this time to Onitsha to see my folks and be reassured that the long list of items required of me towards the funeral had all been bought and delivered to my in-laws. While in Onitsha, I saw my youngest brother Uche for the first time since January this year following his return from from India where he had gone for a surgery on the lower part of his spine. This was a surgery that he was told that had he not had it when he did, he would have been paralyzed in his left leg by now. I saw the scars of the stitches and felt the brace he currently wears to hold up his spine. Now you ask me about counting our blessings. My very good friend (he qualifies to be called my brother in the Diaspora) Tonnie whom I call 'Kingmaker' came calling from Asaba to teach me a thing or two about handling extended in-laws during a funeral. Like he humorously added, he is experienced, as he has lost both his mum and dad prior. God bless this guy.
I also worked the phones some more before going on a long winding journey with the driver of a rented cab who time proved did not know the way to my in-laws' home in Ihube.
We did arrive at last and safely too. All this while I was dealing with some trepidation about how I would be received in the light of my posting of March 16, 2009. Guess what, the first person I saw when I got down from the cab was my spouse. Is this a coincidence or what?
since my seat belt was already strapped on, I could not move fast enough to escape the 'shower' so I got soaked. Now imagine for a moment how I would have looked with orange juice dripping down my pants and both the culprit and the flight attendants offering their apologies. Eventually I got wiped down sort of and ended up smelling like orange juice until I arrived Nigeria after yes about 23 hours!
I slept in my Lekki apartment that night and very early on April 2, got a cab, did some banking transactions (not with the 'happy bank' that is still denying me access to my chequing account in the name of sorting out some minor issues) and raced to catch a flight to Enugu where I stayed overnight and worked the phone reminding my friends, associates, acquaintances et al about not allowing me "walk alone" during my father-in-law's funeral.
On April 3, I continued by road this time to Onitsha to see my folks and be reassured that the long list of items required of me towards the funeral had all been bought and delivered to my in-laws. While in Onitsha, I saw my youngest brother Uche for the first time since January this year following his return from from India where he had gone for a surgery on the lower part of his spine. This was a surgery that he was told that had he not had it when he did, he would have been paralyzed in his left leg by now. I saw the scars of the stitches and felt the brace he currently wears to hold up his spine. Now you ask me about counting our blessings. My very good friend (he qualifies to be called my brother in the Diaspora) Tonnie whom I call 'Kingmaker' came calling from Asaba to teach me a thing or two about handling extended in-laws during a funeral. Like he humorously added, he is experienced, as he has lost both his mum and dad prior. God bless this guy.
I also worked the phones some more before going on a long winding journey with the driver of a rented cab who time proved did not know the way to my in-laws' home in Ihube.
We did arrive at last and safely too. All this while I was dealing with some trepidation about how I would be received in the light of my posting of March 16, 2009. Guess what, the first person I saw when I got down from the cab was my spouse. Is this a coincidence or what?
Leaving my Children on their own
So much has happened since my last posting and I will try and fill you in on them all as I squeeze out some time from the grind that my recent days seem to be.
First is that I have been travelling since March 31 when I left Canada and my three angels - Sampi, Danju and Papa; on a trip to motherland to attend my father-in-law's funeral and do what every rational son-in-law is obligated to do especially as in my case, where the first child is my spouse. I have deliberately used the word 'spouse' instead of 'wife' partly because I live in a country where same gender marriage is legal and also because I choose not to offend any sensibilities.
I arrived Nigeria on April 1 (this is no fool's joke!) aboard a KLM flight and yes i almost forgot - after checking in on-line, I made a dash to the airport to check in my luggage so that I could hurry back to a school in Milton where Danju and his school team were locked in a gold medal basketball game for the town of Milton. We won!! It was good to see my boy with his medal and even better to hear him say that the championship banner is the first his school - St Anthony of Padua was getting and it would be displayed in the school's gym. Way to Go!!
So I quickly drove home with Danju and on getting home, parked the car, got a cab and headed for the airport for the KLM flight to Nigeria.
It's been very emotional for me since that day because I had to leave my kids on their own some twenty-three hours away by air (that's about what it takes from Canada to Nigeria inclusive of some modest lay over time at any transit point).
Part of what I have had to do daily since April 1 is to give them a wake up call at 6.30am EST so they are not late for school. I then send a text message daily at 3.05pm EST when Sampi and Papa would have walked in through the door and again at about 4.30pm EST when Danju whose school is farther away would have been dropped off by the school bus. My lasy daily contact is about 9.oopm EST when I nudge them to turn of the central heater (yes it's still kinda cold -this is Canada!), turn on the alarm system, switch off all lights and go to bed.
When I mentioned leaving my kids on their own, I hope I did not alarm you. I may be everything but being irresponsible is not one of them. Those who know me can vouch for me I hope.Sampi is almost seventeen, Danju is fourteen and Papa will be twelve soon. I had had a chat with them and they assured me it was okay for me to make the trip and that they would be fine.
Talking of being fine, my Sampi has been outstanding in Math this year in school, thanks to some home tutoring by a specialist teacher we got for her. With an average in the top 90s, you can appreciate my excitement.If you don't I ask you to forgive me.
On a sad note, on that same fateful March 31, a senior in Sampi's high school lost his life on Highway 401 when he appeared to have lost control of the car he was driving and rammed the side railing hitting the overpass in the end. He was pronounced dead on the scene. May his soul rest in peace. I can only imagine the grief in his family and to know that he had just a few days earlier been offered admission into a university. Painful indeed.
First is that I have been travelling since March 31 when I left Canada and my three angels - Sampi, Danju and Papa; on a trip to motherland to attend my father-in-law's funeral and do what every rational son-in-law is obligated to do especially as in my case, where the first child is my spouse. I have deliberately used the word 'spouse' instead of 'wife' partly because I live in a country where same gender marriage is legal and also because I choose not to offend any sensibilities.
I arrived Nigeria on April 1 (this is no fool's joke!) aboard a KLM flight and yes i almost forgot - after checking in on-line, I made a dash to the airport to check in my luggage so that I could hurry back to a school in Milton where Danju and his school team were locked in a gold medal basketball game for the town of Milton. We won!! It was good to see my boy with his medal and even better to hear him say that the championship banner is the first his school - St Anthony of Padua was getting and it would be displayed in the school's gym. Way to Go!!
So I quickly drove home with Danju and on getting home, parked the car, got a cab and headed for the airport for the KLM flight to Nigeria.
It's been very emotional for me since that day because I had to leave my kids on their own some twenty-three hours away by air (that's about what it takes from Canada to Nigeria inclusive of some modest lay over time at any transit point).
Part of what I have had to do daily since April 1 is to give them a wake up call at 6.30am EST so they are not late for school. I then send a text message daily at 3.05pm EST when Sampi and Papa would have walked in through the door and again at about 4.30pm EST when Danju whose school is farther away would have been dropped off by the school bus. My lasy daily contact is about 9.oopm EST when I nudge them to turn of the central heater (yes it's still kinda cold -this is Canada!), turn on the alarm system, switch off all lights and go to bed.
When I mentioned leaving my kids on their own, I hope I did not alarm you. I may be everything but being irresponsible is not one of them. Those who know me can vouch for me I hope.Sampi is almost seventeen, Danju is fourteen and Papa will be twelve soon. I had had a chat with them and they assured me it was okay for me to make the trip and that they would be fine.
Talking of being fine, my Sampi has been outstanding in Math this year in school, thanks to some home tutoring by a specialist teacher we got for her. With an average in the top 90s, you can appreciate my excitement.If you don't I ask you to forgive me.
On a sad note, on that same fateful March 31, a senior in Sampi's high school lost his life on Highway 401 when he appeared to have lost control of the car he was driving and rammed the side railing hitting the overpass in the end. He was pronounced dead on the scene. May his soul rest in peace. I can only imagine the grief in his family and to know that he had just a few days earlier been offered admission into a university. Painful indeed.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Bits and Things
I have just come in from my third seminar in as many days. Keeping professionally up to date has become even more necessary in the light of the current events in corporate America and elsewhere. You snooze at your own peril. It is also a requirement to maintain my certifications and licenses in Canada. Often times I wonder if the stories one hears about wrong diagnosis even of very simple health issues back home are real. Perhaps suggesting mandatory refresher trainings for those professions where minor mistakes are often of colossal consequences may be worth it. Do you think I am stirring an hornet’s nest in thinking this way?
For more than two weeks, I have been experiencing a challenge with carrying out an online transfer from a chequing account I have with an offshore bank in an emerging market. Sorry I should have said frontier market because I understand "Naija" has been reclassified a frontier market by global economists in an effort at sounding more politically correct. I have contacted the bank repeatedly without getting an explanation that makes any sense at all. First it was a system issue then it was a minor procedural matter. God knows what creative story they will come up with next. The bottom line is that they are still holding onto my money and this is 6 weeks and counting.Unbelievable!!! I wonder what message this sends to anybody who wants to be supportive of his roots and not get burned doing so. Interesting!!
Tuesday and yesterday were youth program nights for Sampi and the boys respectively. These are hour-long activities at church to try and keep pre-teens and teenagers focused on the things that really matter in life in the midst of all the negative options that abound in school and in the media these days. As this is lent period, it encourages them to stay on track and not feel that they are losing out by ‘not having fun’ (a phrase that lends itself to many interpretations).
Danju had his Bay Area Science and Engineering Fair (BASEF) presentation today at Mohawk College in Hamilton. He and his project partner Ilia had built a hovercraft. They said the reactions from the judges were mixed so they are keeping their fingers crossed about the result. They are happy however for the experience; and I told them that was key and they can only go from here to greater accomplishments irrespective of the outcome of this contest.
Meanwhile, Danju’s basketball playoffs resumed yesterday. They won at home and have a game tomorrow with the next coming up Tuesday nest week. If they make it that far, his team would be matched with his former team on April 15. For his sake, I pray they do as he is so looking forward to a home coming game at St Andrew Catholic School.
Papa will have his first full day of Football (not soccer) practice on Sunday after Mass at Appleby College field.
I guess this brings the Diary up to date and now it’s time to go work on my draft tax preparations. Taxes, taxes, taxes. If only there was a way to make this chore any easier. I don’t do the final stuff myself. My accountant does; but I have to arrange all the receipts and do a simple spreadsheet capturing all activities (now that’s the hard part) so he can do his bit. It’s often said that two things are constant here and none can be avoided – Taxes and Death. It’s the nature of the beast.
Take care and see you.
For more than two weeks, I have been experiencing a challenge with carrying out an online transfer from a chequing account I have with an offshore bank in an emerging market. Sorry I should have said frontier market because I understand "Naija" has been reclassified a frontier market by global economists in an effort at sounding more politically correct. I have contacted the bank repeatedly without getting an explanation that makes any sense at all. First it was a system issue then it was a minor procedural matter. God knows what creative story they will come up with next. The bottom line is that they are still holding onto my money and this is 6 weeks and counting.Unbelievable!!! I wonder what message this sends to anybody who wants to be supportive of his roots and not get burned doing so. Interesting!!
Tuesday and yesterday were youth program nights for Sampi and the boys respectively. These are hour-long activities at church to try and keep pre-teens and teenagers focused on the things that really matter in life in the midst of all the negative options that abound in school and in the media these days. As this is lent period, it encourages them to stay on track and not feel that they are losing out by ‘not having fun’ (a phrase that lends itself to many interpretations).
Danju had his Bay Area Science and Engineering Fair (BASEF) presentation today at Mohawk College in Hamilton. He and his project partner Ilia had built a hovercraft. They said the reactions from the judges were mixed so they are keeping their fingers crossed about the result. They are happy however for the experience; and I told them that was key and they can only go from here to greater accomplishments irrespective of the outcome of this contest.
Meanwhile, Danju’s basketball playoffs resumed yesterday. They won at home and have a game tomorrow with the next coming up Tuesday nest week. If they make it that far, his team would be matched with his former team on April 15. For his sake, I pray they do as he is so looking forward to a home coming game at St Andrew Catholic School.
Papa will have his first full day of Football (not soccer) practice on Sunday after Mass at Appleby College field.
I guess this brings the Diary up to date and now it’s time to go work on my draft tax preparations. Taxes, taxes, taxes. If only there was a way to make this chore any easier. I don’t do the final stuff myself. My accountant does; but I have to arrange all the receipts and do a simple spreadsheet capturing all activities (now that’s the hard part) so he can do his bit. It’s often said that two things are constant here and none can be avoided – Taxes and Death. It’s the nature of the beast.
Take care and see you.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Mothers' Day
I understand it’s Mothers’ Day for Protestants in some parts of the world today. May all females (mothers and ‘yet-to-be’ mothers) please take a bow. You deserve to be recognized. I salute you all. Come to think of it, why do we have a separate Mothers’ Day for Catholics and a different one for Protestants? All this dichotomy and schism beats me. I am not advocating for religious irredentism but for those of us who believe in the existence of a Supreme Being, would it be such a bad idea to collaborate once in a while on those topics that are less divisive such as having one day worldwide to celebrate Mothers’ Day? Did I hear you query why we should celebrate mothers only on one day? Of course we acknowledge their roles in our lives daily with every breath we take but then have a ‘party’ in their honour one day globally. You are at liberty to hold a different opinion on this please.
I came out of Mass today pondering over the real reason why we work? Is it just for being able to provide for our various stakeholders (not shareholders please before you accuse me of being an unrepentant capitalist) or have we fallen into the deifying materialism that we now worship our jobs. We seem to covet our jobs so much that we literally go to creative lengths to keep our employment. I am not pontificating here, not at all. I am just wondering if our jobs have taken the place of God Almighty in our value architecture. Just thinking …
At last March break is over and the kids get back to school tomorrow. Papa is out at the Millbank Park hanging out with another of his friends – Jacob. Danju meanwhile has gone over to drop off a present for Sebastian whose birthday it was yesterday. Sampi is watching one of the many reality shows on television that teenage girls are enamoured with. Old ranger is punching away on the computer keyboards. Soon we would be back to the routine. The upside is that officially spring is here and with it an upbeat mood after the havoc wrecked on our psyche by old man winter. Let’s the fun begin ….
I came out of Mass today pondering over the real reason why we work? Is it just for being able to provide for our various stakeholders (not shareholders please before you accuse me of being an unrepentant capitalist) or have we fallen into the deifying materialism that we now worship our jobs. We seem to covet our jobs so much that we literally go to creative lengths to keep our employment. I am not pontificating here, not at all. I am just wondering if our jobs have taken the place of God Almighty in our value architecture. Just thinking …
At last March break is over and the kids get back to school tomorrow. Papa is out at the Millbank Park hanging out with another of his friends – Jacob. Danju meanwhile has gone over to drop off a present for Sebastian whose birthday it was yesterday. Sampi is watching one of the many reality shows on television that teenage girls are enamoured with. Old ranger is punching away on the computer keyboards. Soon we would be back to the routine. The upside is that officially spring is here and with it an upbeat mood after the havoc wrecked on our psyche by old man winter. Let’s the fun begin ….
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Siya's Departure
Family night was good. We watched two movies –“She’s The Man” and “Fantastic 4” enjoying some home made popcorn and non-alcoholic fruit drinks in tow. Yours truly slept off midway into the second movie. Heard this morning that Papa and Sampi were no less guilty.
Hurried out of the house at 10am today because as you guessed, yes, the realtor had called yesterday that someone wanted to view our home. Papa in his childlike innocence had wondered that with house staging and showings, what if some items such as small pieces of art or a family heirloom got nicked? Thinking seriously. What if? How do you bring up the discussion without ruffling feathers, embarrassing people and perhaps only finding out many days after the fact with the real culprit long gone? Well let’s just say we expect none of that to happen. We have our fingers crossed.
So we scurried out of our home and headed to IKEA for another family occasional ritual – IKEA breakfast and some quick look at home furnishings within the store. Anything to get a good bang for a buck especially in these times.
Danju's buddy, Sebastian and Papa's pal, Jack came by after 'shooting some hoops' at the St Andrew Catholic School yard and the four young men disappeared into the games room for rounds of Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360 duels leaving me with the 'girls' for a couple of hours.
Our next major activity this night was dropping off Siya at the airport for her long haul flight home to Nigeria for the funeral of her father. I'd stay back here with kids for now and leave just a day or two to the funeral to do what is expected of me as the husband of the first daughter. Those of you who are Nigerians know what that means.
We just got home and it's time to pray and go to bed.
At times, living seems like a rat race.
Take care now and let's talk again some time.
Hurried out of the house at 10am today because as you guessed, yes, the realtor had called yesterday that someone wanted to view our home. Papa in his childlike innocence had wondered that with house staging and showings, what if some items such as small pieces of art or a family heirloom got nicked? Thinking seriously. What if? How do you bring up the discussion without ruffling feathers, embarrassing people and perhaps only finding out many days after the fact with the real culprit long gone? Well let’s just say we expect none of that to happen. We have our fingers crossed.
So we scurried out of our home and headed to IKEA for another family occasional ritual – IKEA breakfast and some quick look at home furnishings within the store. Anything to get a good bang for a buck especially in these times.
Danju's buddy, Sebastian and Papa's pal, Jack came by after 'shooting some hoops' at the St Andrew Catholic School yard and the four young men disappeared into the games room for rounds of Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360 duels leaving me with the 'girls' for a couple of hours.
Our next major activity this night was dropping off Siya at the airport for her long haul flight home to Nigeria for the funeral of her father. I'd stay back here with kids for now and leave just a day or two to the funeral to do what is expected of me as the husband of the first daughter. Those of you who are Nigerians know what that means.
We just got home and it's time to pray and go to bed.
At times, living seems like a rat race.
Take care now and let's talk again some time.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Sampi's Safe Return
We have just come back from picking up Sampi from Pearson International on her return from Italy. We are grateful to God for journey mercies. When things work so smoothly -( I mean her flight to Italy via London, the trips between Rome and Florence and now her flight back to Canada), there is the part of us humans to take things for granted. To put this in some perspective, no trip is entirely safe. You may have heard of how a leisure skii training in Montreal turned ghastly for a well liked movie actress earlier this week. Recently too we read of a chopper going down with passengers aboard some where in the north of Canada and the Turkish airliner that went down in The Netherlands just a few miles from Schiphol airport. Thank you heavenly father for bringing Sampi and the rest of her team back safely.
My baby girl is so tickled. I'd give her a couple of days to calm down and get over jet lag then this Diary will demand some stories from her trip.
Siya came in very late last night from Edmonton where she moved to on January 2 this year. She would be flying to Nigeria this weekend for the funeral of her father, my father-in-law who passed on Monday, March 9.
So much has been written of his academic accomplishments that as ode to him, this blog will have a full day dedicated to him in April after the funeral.
We are just one day away from the end of March break. It's gratifying that Danju and Papa say it's been so much fun for them. That's very heartwarming for me for as a daddy. In this era of kids always asking for more, it's sobering hearing my boys say this March break has been awesome.
It would be family night again tomorrow and I would amongst all that we would be doing, thank the kids for being such a lovely bunch.
Take care now and talk to you again tomorrow.
My baby girl is so tickled. I'd give her a couple of days to calm down and get over jet lag then this Diary will demand some stories from her trip.
Siya came in very late last night from Edmonton where she moved to on January 2 this year. She would be flying to Nigeria this weekend for the funeral of her father, my father-in-law who passed on Monday, March 9.
So much has been written of his academic accomplishments that as ode to him, this blog will have a full day dedicated to him in April after the funeral.
We are just one day away from the end of March break. It's gratifying that Danju and Papa say it's been so much fun for them. That's very heartwarming for me for as a daddy. In this era of kids always asking for more, it's sobering hearing my boys say this March break has been awesome.
It would be family night again tomorrow and I would amongst all that we would be doing, thank the kids for being such a lovely bunch.
Take care now and talk to you again tomorrow.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Damned if you do, damned if you don't
It's good to be with you again after a couple of days of hiatus caused by circumstances that are best left for another day.
It's March break and my boys and I went shopping today - using up some gift cards they got from friends and family during Christmas. By shopping, we are doing our bit towards re-inflating a global economy that is in dire straits. A little bit of confidence in the economy should help at this time. There has been so much of negative stories in the press especially in North America and Europe that people are literally hiding the little cash they still have under their mattresses. Which is why some cheerful news is welcome.
Talking of cheerful news, Sampi called from Rome today! I had not heard my daughter's voice since Wednesday last week when I dropped her off at Pearson International for her school trip to Italy. I was excited to hear from daddy's baby girl and got a bit teary eyed when she said she was enjoying the experience but misses home so much. She would be back on Friday and I'd be waiting at the airport to receive my angel. Danju and Papa tried to act all grown up when Sampi called, a departure from the solemn disposition they exhibited the first night she was away. To think of it, this is the first time (if my memory serves me well), Sampi has been away from her brothers for more than one night. C'est la vie! The children are all growing up and soon each will go in pursuit of his or her destiny and what lies in the future. God help me.
I am not sure which is more difficult and tricky - consoling a spouse who's had a miscarriage or dealing with the mood swings of a spouse who's mourning the sudden loss of a parent? I know from experience however that none is fun. Hardly anything you do at such a time is right.If you appear happy for any reason and for any length of time, you could be seen as not showing enough empathy. If you are sober and reflective, you are accused of getting her more depressed instead of trying to cheer her up. A typical case of damned if you do and damned if you don't. Indeed a heavy burden to bear, a huge load to carry.
I said it was March break and so catering to the demands of the boys becomes an escape from the quagmire. A way to get away from being between the rock and the hard place.
It's dinner time so you would have to excuse me, Danju and Papa are already waiting.
Catch you on the rebound. See you later.
It's March break and my boys and I went shopping today - using up some gift cards they got from friends and family during Christmas. By shopping, we are doing our bit towards re-inflating a global economy that is in dire straits. A little bit of confidence in the economy should help at this time. There has been so much of negative stories in the press especially in North America and Europe that people are literally hiding the little cash they still have under their mattresses. Which is why some cheerful news is welcome.
Talking of cheerful news, Sampi called from Rome today! I had not heard my daughter's voice since Wednesday last week when I dropped her off at Pearson International for her school trip to Italy. I was excited to hear from daddy's baby girl and got a bit teary eyed when she said she was enjoying the experience but misses home so much. She would be back on Friday and I'd be waiting at the airport to receive my angel. Danju and Papa tried to act all grown up when Sampi called, a departure from the solemn disposition they exhibited the first night she was away. To think of it, this is the first time (if my memory serves me well), Sampi has been away from her brothers for more than one night. C'est la vie! The children are all growing up and soon each will go in pursuit of his or her destiny and what lies in the future. God help me.
I am not sure which is more difficult and tricky - consoling a spouse who's had a miscarriage or dealing with the mood swings of a spouse who's mourning the sudden loss of a parent? I know from experience however that none is fun. Hardly anything you do at such a time is right.If you appear happy for any reason and for any length of time, you could be seen as not showing enough empathy. If you are sober and reflective, you are accused of getting her more depressed instead of trying to cheer her up. A typical case of damned if you do and damned if you don't. Indeed a heavy burden to bear, a huge load to carry.
I said it was March break and so catering to the demands of the boys becomes an escape from the quagmire. A way to get away from being between the rock and the hard place.
It's dinner time so you would have to excuse me, Danju and Papa are already waiting.
Catch you on the rebound. See you later.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
A Roller Coaster
Phew! It's been a few days of some highs and lows. My father-in-law was called to eternal glory in the early hours of Monday March 9. He had not been feeling very well for some time but it was not such to give us any hint that he was coming to the end of his earthly sojourn. We are all still shell shocked by the suddenness of it all. It's now the time to give him a deserving 'exit party' once the contending village issues are dealt with. My poor spouse (his first daughter) -is holding up as well as someone who just lost a dear parent can. May his soul rest in peace.
For some bit of cheery news. As I write, my daughter Sampi is on her way to Italy -Rome and Florence; aboard British Airways. She is part of a school contingent on a nine-day excursion to Europe. Even though I dropped her off at the airport only a couple of hours ago, I already do miss her a lot. My poor baby. She is all so 'growed up' as Rugrats would say.
So it's just the boys and I are at home for the next week and a half until Sampi comes back.
The evening ended with the 'Parents Night' for the 2009 Oakville Minor Football League at the Oakville Townhall. Danju had chosen to concentrate on basketball at this time so it would be Papa alone playing football this year.
We already had the initial 'Combine' on March 1 led by an ex-NFLer who is currently a DB for Montreal Allouettes asssited by another CFL player from the Eskimos.
It looks like it will be fun for the kids this season. Papa says he is all pumped for it. Well, after being timed at 5.75seconds over 40 yards for an 11year old kid, I am tempted not to argue with him. In his rookie year two years ago, he was an Offensive MVP for Etobicoke Eagles Tyke team having played as a Running Back.
I have to go now so I can get things ready for school tomorrow for the boys. Usually, Sampi would have assisted me but for the next couple of days, I'd be on my own. Thank goodness March break begins on Monday.
See you around.
For some bit of cheery news. As I write, my daughter Sampi is on her way to Italy -Rome and Florence; aboard British Airways. She is part of a school contingent on a nine-day excursion to Europe. Even though I dropped her off at the airport only a couple of hours ago, I already do miss her a lot. My poor baby. She is all so 'growed up' as Rugrats would say.
So it's just the boys and I are at home for the next week and a half until Sampi comes back.
The evening ended with the 'Parents Night' for the 2009 Oakville Minor Football League at the Oakville Townhall. Danju had chosen to concentrate on basketball at this time so it would be Papa alone playing football this year.
We already had the initial 'Combine' on March 1 led by an ex-NFLer who is currently a DB for Montreal Allouettes asssited by another CFL player from the Eskimos.
It looks like it will be fun for the kids this season. Papa says he is all pumped for it. Well, after being timed at 5.75seconds over 40 yards for an 11year old kid, I am tempted not to argue with him. In his rookie year two years ago, he was an Offensive MVP for Etobicoke Eagles Tyke team having played as a Running Back.
I have to go now so I can get things ready for school tomorrow for the boys. Usually, Sampi would have assisted me but for the next couple of days, I'd be on my own. Thank goodness March break begins on Monday.
See you around.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Daylight Saving Time
Today was one of those slooooooow days. Hardly any eventful activities to report on. As we do most Saturdays, we slept in until until about 9.30am when Danju made us 'special breakfast of bacon, sausage, eggs, tomatoes, grape fruit etc. Yummy!
Of course, we tidied the house- each person pitching in. Therafter we dropped off Danju at his friend's for their hovercraft project. On our way we had stopped at Home Depot and got a 235mph leaf blower which he needed for the project.
Then it was time to attend the dedication and first birthday party of a friend's daughter. I was able to persuade Sampi and Papa to go to the party with me. For accompanying me to the party Sampi got to go bowling with some of her classmates thereafter. Not a bad deal eh?
Well, I am back home now with the boys and Sampi is on her way home from the bowling alley.
At last I can have some TV time tonight before I hit the bed. Before then however I would adjust the clocks one hour forward - Daylight saving time.
Take care then and we shall reconnect tomorrow.
Of course, we tidied the house- each person pitching in. Therafter we dropped off Danju at his friend's for their hovercraft project. On our way we had stopped at Home Depot and got a 235mph leaf blower which he needed for the project.
Then it was time to attend the dedication and first birthday party of a friend's daughter. I was able to persuade Sampi and Papa to go to the party with me. For accompanying me to the party Sampi got to go bowling with some of her classmates thereafter. Not a bad deal eh?
Well, I am back home now with the boys and Sampi is on her way home from the bowling alley.
At last I can have some TV time tonight before I hit the bed. Before then however I would adjust the clocks one hour forward - Daylight saving time.
Take care then and we shall reconnect tomorrow.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Family Night
Today began with a long distance call from my golf mentor in Nigeria – Joe. It was very kind of him to call to know how I was getting along. If you are wondering, I am originally from Nigeria but have been living with my family in Canada for about a decade and counting. Trying to raise a family in two cultures (Nigerian and Canadian) remains a challenge which someday we shall talk about.
Eighteen months ago, I ‘returned to Eden’ to do a tour of duty and in the process became friends with some of the nicest fellows you can find, Joe is one of them. We talked about family, Ikoyi club and of course business. He lamented that the US greenback was exchanging for Naira 177 at the parallel market. Unbelievable!! Less than three months ago it had exchanged for Naira 118 ( a 50% slide in just three months; even in these uncertain times is a bitter pill to swallow). Nigeria we hail thee.
Papa (our baby of the house) and second son, was the first guy off the starting blocks this morning.
Soon it was 8.00 am and time to pray before the kids all went out of the door. Spring seemed to have sprung what with 7degrees and according to the weather man, could hit 15 degrees at some point today. I can understand the rush to get outside. Having been hibernating with layers of clothing since December, warm weather is a welcome development. Remember here is Canada and our winter is legendary.
At 10.00am the phone rang and it was the realtor’s office telling me a viewing was being proposed for 11.00am to 12 noon. You know what means right? Time to leave the house so another prospective buyer could visit. Often times I wonder how many other properties these buyers are evaluating and how ours stacks up.
So to the Iroquois Ridge library I went and after reading a bit, I hit the gym.My work out today consisted of some aerobic time on the treadmill and anaerobic time concentarting on my biceps, triceps and shoulders. With that done, I headed back home to arrange some ‘potluck’ lunch for the kids. Papa and Sampi came in shortly after. Danju’s school (an academically gifted program) is some distance away in Milton so he usually gets in a little later.
With lunch over, Papa went to his school’s yard to shoot some hoops with Jack his buddy; while Sampi had to go help Kay with decorating for her 17th birthday party.
My daughter is fast becoming a lady. I still have vivid recollection of when God blessed us with her in 1992. I had just moved to Lagos to take up a job while my mum came over to stay with my Siya in Jos. I remember getting that call that changes your life forever- “…congratulations you are now a daddy….”.
To God be the glory that I did not crash my new company car that evening. I was still staying at a hotel being new on the job and I dashed off from Apapa in the Daewoo Racer ( not sure if that brand and model of car is till on the market) to celebrate my new status with Maurice ( then a 2nd Lieutenant and now a Navy Captain) in Ikoyi where he was staying with his aunt’s family.
Fast forward seventeen years and here we are. It’s been an experience that I wish and pray every male would have- fatherhood. Kids!!! They can drive you up the wall sometimes, adorable and loving at other times and something in-between especially during their teenage years when the hormones start raging and they try to test your will and push the envelope with you. All in all, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Thank God for children.
It’s 8.13pm: Sampi and I have just returned from doing our grocery shopping for the week. Tonight is “Family Night” so we should be converging in the family room soon to shoot breeze and watch a movie chosen by the kids. Tonight, we’d be having pizza, pop corn and home made juice in tow. Our family nights which come up on alternate Fridays are looked forward to with relish by us all and is a good vehicle for bonding. I would suggest this to families reading this blog.
So excuse me before I run guilty of delaying family night. See you all tomorrow.
Eighteen months ago, I ‘returned to Eden’ to do a tour of duty and in the process became friends with some of the nicest fellows you can find, Joe is one of them. We talked about family, Ikoyi club and of course business. He lamented that the US greenback was exchanging for Naira 177 at the parallel market. Unbelievable!! Less than three months ago it had exchanged for Naira 118 ( a 50% slide in just three months; even in these uncertain times is a bitter pill to swallow). Nigeria we hail thee.
Papa (our baby of the house) and second son, was the first guy off the starting blocks this morning.
Soon it was 8.00 am and time to pray before the kids all went out of the door. Spring seemed to have sprung what with 7degrees and according to the weather man, could hit 15 degrees at some point today. I can understand the rush to get outside. Having been hibernating with layers of clothing since December, warm weather is a welcome development. Remember here is Canada and our winter is legendary.
At 10.00am the phone rang and it was the realtor’s office telling me a viewing was being proposed for 11.00am to 12 noon. You know what means right? Time to leave the house so another prospective buyer could visit. Often times I wonder how many other properties these buyers are evaluating and how ours stacks up.
So to the Iroquois Ridge library I went and after reading a bit, I hit the gym.My work out today consisted of some aerobic time on the treadmill and anaerobic time concentarting on my biceps, triceps and shoulders. With that done, I headed back home to arrange some ‘potluck’ lunch for the kids. Papa and Sampi came in shortly after. Danju’s school (an academically gifted program) is some distance away in Milton so he usually gets in a little later.
With lunch over, Papa went to his school’s yard to shoot some hoops with Jack his buddy; while Sampi had to go help Kay with decorating for her 17th birthday party.
My daughter is fast becoming a lady. I still have vivid recollection of when God blessed us with her in 1992. I had just moved to Lagos to take up a job while my mum came over to stay with my Siya in Jos. I remember getting that call that changes your life forever- “…congratulations you are now a daddy….”.
To God be the glory that I did not crash my new company car that evening. I was still staying at a hotel being new on the job and I dashed off from Apapa in the Daewoo Racer ( not sure if that brand and model of car is till on the market) to celebrate my new status with Maurice ( then a 2nd Lieutenant and now a Navy Captain) in Ikoyi where he was staying with his aunt’s family.
Fast forward seventeen years and here we are. It’s been an experience that I wish and pray every male would have- fatherhood. Kids!!! They can drive you up the wall sometimes, adorable and loving at other times and something in-between especially during their teenage years when the hormones start raging and they try to test your will and push the envelope with you. All in all, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Thank God for children.
It’s 8.13pm: Sampi and I have just returned from doing our grocery shopping for the week. Tonight is “Family Night” so we should be converging in the family room soon to shoot breeze and watch a movie chosen by the kids. Tonight, we’d be having pizza, pop corn and home made juice in tow. Our family nights which come up on alternate Fridays are looked forward to with relish by us all and is a good vehicle for bonding. I would suggest this to families reading this blog.
So excuse me before I run guilty of delaying family night. See you all tomorrow.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)