When It All Goes Downside Up….

December 16, 2015December 16, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha25 Comments

Being a mother is not a duty that comes with a how-to manual; you simply take on the responsibility with Grace and Hope.

Some days are a fly by the seat of your pants days, where so many things get thrown at you at such speed that you either catch, dodge or get hit.

Yesterday was one of those days. I will not inundate you with all the nitty-gritty, but when you have children, you are always simply in the ”Be prepared mode”, more so with two rough and tumble boys.

One left for school hale and hearty and came back wheeled in with a sprained ankle from a rough game of football. He had scored a goal and the others piled on top of him!

Another came down with a bout of fever and coughing up a storm.

My dear daughter on her own part, appeared puffy faced and teary eyed; her brand new tablet had just been smashed by a careless best friend.

All these within hours of each other and on top of other beckoning, ever- present responsibilities.

”What do you do?” ”Pull your hair out and get crazy or keep calm and handle the tasks at hand?”

Scene 1. With lots of cold compress, gentle massage and pain relief, we got the ankle to feel fine and he is walking by himself this morning, so we are smiling.

Scene 2. Brewed lots of warm soup, made mugs of fresh squeezed lemon with a dash of boiled ginger and teaspoons of honey, 10mils of Ibuprofen and palliatives; we are still coughing, but fever is down.

Scene 3. A quick retrieval of warranty for the tablet and mummy has to go and see if something can be done about it.

So there it is. All in a days job.

Today, I am thankful for God’s protection and grace over my family.

I am grateful for serenity in chaotic moments.

There is always something to be thankful for. What is your heart grateful for today?

You can join Colline’s or Maria Jansson gratitude challenge platforms.

Family · Life · Personal story · The Daily Post

When They Came Calling…

December 15, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha12 Comments

My growing years was in a community where visitors didn’t need to announce their intentions before paying a call. It was simply the way it was.

It was normal to see hundreds of honorary aunties and uncles floating through the doors of my parents house and my parents returned the same courtesy.

Ours was a calm, intellectual and laid-back University community where the evenings after work were spent by the gentlemen at the staff club or folks visiting each other.

They would talk and eager laughter would echo through the house while they ate garden eggs and alligator pepper. Bottles of beer accompanied these relaxing moments and they recounted their tales.

I grew up with extended family drifting in and out of our home and it was likewise in so many other homes that I knew. As a matter of fact, some extended family members were permanent members of the household.

Meals were always prepared in extra quantities so that unanticipated guests would have a warm plate of rice or whatever was available; and it was always enough.

It didn’t matter how tight the house was, there was always room for one more and it was almost tantamount to an abomination for your folks to have to make a special request before they could come calling.

That was the mentality of hospitality back then, but times are certainly changing.

However, it was still such a pleasure that when I went home in August, visitors were still floating in and out to see my mother and I am certainly grateful for them being there and helping to take her mind off things.

So, assuming that I come home and see a strange couple in my house eating a slice of cake in my living room, my primary concern would be to find out if they are menacing, especially since they are unknown.

How did they get in? Are my family okay and not under duress?

As long as everything is as it should be and that they didn’t break into my home, but were let in quietly, I will then settle down to know who they are and why they came calling.

Maybe they are just the new neighbours who came by to get acquainted and my husband is being very magnanimous with my freshly baked cake and my inquisitive self would love to get to know them a bit better.

You never know what story may be lurking in there in their midst.

The Daily Post prompt unexpected guests.

You walk into your home to find a couple you don’t know sitting in your living room, eating a slice of cake. Tell us what happens next.

Creative Writing · Family · Life · Love · Poetry/Poems · Writing 101

She Called Him Mine….

December 15, 2015December 15, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha26 Comments

They loved so much,

That a blind could see it.

The fruits of their love,

Was quite clear to me.

She called him mine,

And he called her Nkem,

Which also meant mine.

They were each others backbone,

One couldn’t go where

The other would not go.

And this way they stayed together,

From their youthfulness,

To their greying years.

Till death stole Mine away from Nkem.

Now, I watch my mother flounder,

Without my dad by her side.

♥

There’s always room for more poetry about love — and @vijayasundaram2015‘s prompt, Beloved, invites you to take a fresh stab at a timeless topic.

”Thank you Vijaya” 🙂

Creative Writing · Family · Life · Love · Personal story · Photographs · Poetry/Poems · Writing 101

I Thought That I Knew…

December 15, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha23 Comments

I heaved and panted.

With all my might,

I pushed.

Till I thought that,

Every vein within,

Would burst with pressure.

And I hated every moment,

Of such horrendous pain.

Wondering what was the gain?

Until I beheld the squalling bundles,

And their curious little eyes.

I felt their fist snatch tight,

And held my heart very fast.

The pain flew out of the window,

The light of the gain shone bright.

As I tumbled completely in love,

Without hindrance, I fell.

Realizing that I had no idea whatsoever

I thought I knew it before.

♥

There’s always room for more poetry about love — and @vijayasundaram2015‘s prompt, Beloved, invites you to take a fresh stab at a timeless topic.

”Thank you Vijaya” 🙂

Life · Personal story · Photographs · Quotes For You · The Daily Post

My Clay Feet…personal

December 13, 2015December 13, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha35 Comments

Did someone mention flaws? Oh dear!

My heap of clay feet is so huge that it’s too heavy to be placed on a pedestal. I am covered in bruises of flaws.

I am bandaged and sore all over from the blight of character that I suffer.

Grace and mercy saved me from the blisters of slavery to my flaws and I hardly know where to start, but what I know for sure is that I am truly glad for the gift of self acceptance and discovery.

Before I got married and had children, my patience level was low and needed room for improvement. In simple terms, I did not suffer fools gladly.

However, with the arrival of my darling, yours truly, my young patience was stretched thin, that there were times I wondered if God was having a chuckle as fate deliberately paired me with a man who is my direct opposite and who would drive me crazy with his own eccentricities.

Then the arrival of children stretched it further, yet, surprisingly made it stronger and more elastic to such an extent that the level of my patience in recent times astounds even me at times.

I used to worry incessantly. I worried about my family. I worried about tomorrow. I worried about the state of the World and everything worth worrying about up until the ministrations of the Holy Spirit made me realize that worrying about issues beyond my control was simply exhausting, fruitless and non-purposeful.

I learnt to start casting my burdens unto The Lord as minutiae as they may be and over time, I have noticed so much improved difference. The trials and lessons were actually meant for my own long term benefit.

It’s really an endless list but, something that I know for sure is that, not only is my evolution a transforming liberation for me, but also a spiritually refining progress.

Without doubts no one can claim to be flawless. Even the Saints were Sinners at some point in time in their lives.

Now I see my flaws as my beauty spots 🙂

The Daily Post prompt Flawed.

What is your worst quality?

Creative Writing · Hope · Life · Poetry/Poems · Social Issues · Writing · Writing 101

May I Share With You?…

December 11, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha41 Comments

LIVING FREE…

May I live
Unafraid to breathe
Free from a choke-hold
That becomes a stronghold
May I live
Unafraid to live
Clinging to my expectations
With feral desperation

SHARING FREELY…

May I share space
Unafraid of being encased
Free from condemnation of race
That becomes a strong base
Purple, White, Olive, Black and every hue within
May I share space
Knowing that we are first a human race
…And all blood are red in this place.

BELIEVE FREELY…

May I speak of belief
Unafraid and in relief
Free from contentious eyes of disbelief
That becomes thresholds of grief
May I wear my mask of belief
Understanding that to achieve
Peace would be a welcome reprieve
…Which we must seek to retrieve.

LOVING FREELY…

May I love you
Unafraid to be bound to you
Free from censors of broken whispers
That becomes harbingers of cold shivers
May I love freely my love
Unafraid to expose my naked bust
Knowing that in you lies my trust
Encased in the warm embrace of your love.

Writing 101, Day 5 Freedom

Creative Writing · Life · Poetry/Poems · Writing 101

Dilly-Dally…..

December 10, 2015December 10, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha21 Comments

They thought they had all the time
With vigour they dilly-dallied overtime
Bright eyes and dashing red lipsticks, they wined and dined
Brawny sinews and husky tones, they were in their prime

They enjoyed lots of downtime
Some simply left it all to sometime
And kept saying in the meantime
Lets have fun ‘cos it’s Summertime

Tick Tock, Tick Tock goes the passage of time.

Seconds to minutes, to hours and to days
The days rolled by and turned into years
Time flew by and they were in tears
There was no going back in arrears

Anticipation gave birth to perspiration
Relaxation gave way to vexation
It was now more than halftime
This game does not allow a second time

Tick Tock, Tick Tock, time was nearly gone.

They struggled to earn a dime
Indeed it was a stiff climb
Some turned to a quick hand of crime
While a whole lot started to whine

Some felt that life was simply slime
And sacrificed their peacetime
While some made juice with their lime
And simply had a good time

Tick Tock, Tick Tock, it’s a race against time

Now it’s past their springtime
No more room for sublime
Now its a game of full-time
There is no more prime-time

With the passage of years and all the time
Which they had lent for a long time to sometime
Who then gave it to procrastination every time
And he is renowned to be the biggest thief of time.

Writing 101, Day 4 – Second

Creative Writing · Life · Poetry/Poems · Writing 101

Baby Batter…

December 10, 2015December 10, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha9 Comments

Head long
He rushed along
Others were behind his tail
All competing at the same scale
Its survival of the fittest
As well as the fastest
Seconds is all it takes
To decide who bakes the cake.

Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Writing 101 Day 4 – Seconds
Image Credit: Pinterest

Devotions · Family · Gratitude · Hope · Life · Quotes For You

It’s Never Too Little…

December 9, 2015December 10, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha18 Comments

My heart is glad for the pretty things that surround me in this environment. The flowers are blooming all over the place and the birds are flocking all around.

For the simple things of life, like a warm bowl of chilli and vegetable soup brewed in my kitchen, for the crispy cool Sahara air; even though we are all sneezing and coughing, I give thanks.

Above all things today, I am so grateful that we were able to find Prednisolone at 3am this morning, when my young boy woke up with sudden bad allergic reaction and a swollen face.

We used all the normal stuff for him, but to no avail.

He is allergic to certain environmental factors and it occurs more with weather changes like Summer with all the pollen or the dusty Winter air in this climes.

I did not want to use EpiPen which I keep for only extreme reactions.

Mercifully, the allergic reaction has been arrested and we have every cause to smile.

For what are you thankful today? ”Remember that feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” – William Arthur Ward.

Would you like to join Colline’s gratitude challenge? Just click on the link and join the party.

Life · Personal story · Quotes For You · The Daily Post

When Enough is Enough!…

December 7, 2015December 7, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha38 Comments

Not saying no was a problem I battled with for a long time. I was always going above and beyond to assist people and this left me feeling pressured and even created very uncomfortable situations for me in the past.

A lot of times, once someone came to me with their issues, I sought ways to help alleviate their challenges, to help them as much as I could, until I learnt that people will bleed you for whatever you are worth until you become a limp rag and that saying no, is not a crime.

Back then not being able to readily assist someone practically gave me depression. I was left with the feeling of failing to help, which would sit within me for quite some time, even when I knew that I was not in a position to offer the assistance that they sought at that point in time.

At some point in time, I was a member to so many groups and serving in the group in one capacity or the other, that my life was always hectic and inundating.

It was in praying for myself that I realized that my sanity mattered more than what other people thought about my declining their offers and requests, so I started chopping off the strings to make space for me to breath.

Now, saying no is not a hardship, especially when I don’t feel spiritually in tune with the request.

I am not in a bid to impress anyone and if I am in a position to help someone, or to serve, I go ahead and do so, on my own terms.

If I am not in a position to help, I simply state that fact and it is what it is.

The Daily Post Sorry I am busy.

Tell us about a time when you should have helped someone… but didn’t.