Do you remember when you last splashed around bare-feet with abandon and sheer delight?
There is nothing as pure and as delightful as watching a child play happily without care.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Do You Remember….Wordless Wednesday
Tag: happy
….And We Get To Rest.
Oh Yes! In the presence of the Lord,
I will bring my gift,
In thanksgiving and joy,
There is joy in my heart,
It is flowing like a river,
And I will praise the Lord,
In Thanksgiving and Joy.
For today’s gratitude challenge, I am thankful that I don’t have to jump out of bed early for a couple of days and rush around like a headless chicken, to ensure that the children are ready for school.
It’s National Day celebration over here, so we get today and tomorrow off school which spills right into the weekend. Yes!!!
I am thankful for the season that we are in. I feel the joy in the air. Even in this city that is Muslim dominated, there is so much liberalism at this point.
Christmas decorations are popping up at the malls and Christmas tunes float in the air from several shops. It’s amazing and I am thankful that we are in a city that is tolerant of other peoples’ religion.
I am quite sure that you have something to be thankful for today.
Blessed Love.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
“If you want to turn your life around, try thankfulness, it will change your life mightily.” – Gerald Good.
A Little Dream Coming Real Before My Eyes….
Whoot! Whoot! You don’t say! My 200th Blogging Milestone post is in!
I feel like floating out of my seat and singing loudly and off-key too!
I didn’t set out to hit this mark so soon just after hitting my 100th blogging milestone on the 8th of September, but I just did it!
I am truly surprised because according to the timeline/goals that I had set for myself, I expected to get here by the end of the December. Naturally, I expected to gain a few more blogging friends as I went along, but I have managed to exceed my own humble expectations.
I personally don’t like putting too much expectation out there and wearing my heart on my sleeves; that way, I won’t feel particularly disappointed or perturbed if things are a bit slow.
To have started this 5 months ago and happily sustained a tempo is what really makes me glad. I had expected the fascination to wane a bit, but not yet! It has only grown stronger by the day.
The desire to write solidifies more and more.
I take a closer look at my posts and found that in September alone, I had churned out 86 posts and this month 29 posts so far! I firmly believe that Blogging University contributed a grand deal to this scheme and I would like to encourage anyone having second thoughts to give it a shot.
I also look at my stats and yes I am pleased to bits. I try not to check it too often – maybe once a week to decipher which day or what article came out strong.
Compared to my 100th post which took me 3 months from May to September to arrive at and my stats stood at:
I am celebrating my 100 posts, my 192 blogger friends, my 4,247 followers and my 5,220 stats on this blog.
TODAY:
I celebrate, my 200th blogging milestone, my 435 blogger friends, 6,556 followers and my 12,327 stats! More than a double jump in a month and 5 days!
To say the least, I am very happy! No! my bank account did not swell from blogging and that has never been the reason why I started blogging in the first place; if it comes as time goes on, of course, I will celebrate that too.
I like to dream realizable dreams and though this might not mean much to some big bloggers, it means a lot to me!
I will not despise my little beginnings, because we all have to start from somewhere.
The magic that it holds for me is that I got up from dreaming about it, to actualizing it! Well that’s a little dream come true for me!
My heart swells from meeting so many of you. To some of you, I have already imagined who they are in real face time based on our exchanges and their blogging voices and I so hope, that maybe one day in the future of WordPress, we may be opportune to encounter in real face time.
To all of you, I do say thanks. Thank you for the encouragement. Thank you for the smiles. Thank you for adopting me in this community of well meaning individuals.
I Thank God most of all for the sustenance and Grace.
Now let me go and hoot my horn and make some noise in my house 😉
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Dancing cartoon gif courtesy: picgifs.com
A Step back into Childhood….
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Life’s a Candy Store.”
What a delightful day this would be! I am six years old again and I get to spend it as I please and with whom I choose.
Well! Well! Whoever says that life doesn’t have it’s pleasant sweet spots and that the lines don’t fall in the right places is a big, fat lying Pinocchio! Just watch me 🙂
It’s a beautiful Saturday morning. Of course, I am still young enough to get excused from doing serious chores, apart from brushing my teeth properly, taking my shower and eating sumptuous helpings of mummy’s homemade pancakes with dripping drizzles of maple syrup, nicely done omelets (no vegetables please), sausages, baked beans and a nice warm cup of cocoa.
We all pile into my daddy’s lovely blue Renault Saloon car. It has seen a lot of good mileage and made lots of beautiful memories.
Off we go to Leventis super stores in Enugu; a forty-five minutes drive from our abode in Nsukka, through the old road and past the Milken hill.
Milken hill is a verdant wilderness and as I peer through the wound up windows of our beloved Renault with plate number ”ECH 480” winding, its way through the snaky, precarious, hilly road with its scary drop, my child eyes imagine the trumpeting Elephants, the roaring Lions and the curious monkeys that inhabit that wilderness.
The scary drop seems like a bottom less pit and one must negotiate it with care. Many cars have been known to meet a fatal stop on this part of the road.
We make it safely to Leventis. It is a store of a child’s dream and every book and toy that my mind can conjure is stocked here.
”Chinny, you and your siblings can go and select three items each for yourselves.” ”Two books and one toy each.” ”We have two hours to spend before we go to visit your cousins, daddy says to me.”
Daddy is such a wonderful man. He knows I love books and he stokes it rather nicely by buying lots of them for me 🙂
I make a beeline for the huge outlay of more books than I have ever seen.
Rows and rows of beautiful, vibrantly coloured story books fill my eyes. A browse and a selection of the two books that I want to go home with are made. I then settle down at the children’s corner where I quickly digest another one whilst waiting for mummy to finish making her purchases.
I debate in my mind whether to exchange my toy option for a third book. I know that on a good day when we are not squabbling, my sister will allow me to play with her new doll and I want all the books in the book store to belong to me.
I negotiate very nicely with daddy and I end up with four books instead of two. I have diligently checked the prices on all the girly toys and they far outweigh the price of two extra books; somehow, I feel sensible and smart. I think daddy appreciates my consideration.
Don’t be mistaken, I love toys like all children, but my love for books far outweighs my love for toys. Besides, I already saw my parents looking at Raleigh bicycles. I know that they would be purchasing one for each of us.
Our shopping is done! We make a quick stop at No 1. Chief Alex Ekwueme street, the home of my favorite cousins. They don’t need too much coaxing to join us for a picnic party at Polo park.
At the expansive Polo park grounds, we take turns on the rides, on the swings and slides. We play ”Swe” and ‘‘Uga” until hunger pangs kick in and it is time to tuck into the goodies that mummy has dutifully packed.
The picnic basket bulges with all sorts of goodies – enough to feed an army. Fizzy pops, cake, cookies, sandwiches, jollof rice with chicken, etc are generously marshaled out on paper plates by mum. 
Daddy has a sweet tooth (I think the sweet tooth thing is genetic) and never fails to get those lovely ice lollies on cones for us for dessert.
Our palates are sated and our tummies nicely rounded from food.
Evening is fast approaching. A quick decision on whether to drive back home through the Milken hill or to spend the night at the cousins is made. Auntie Christie always graciously opens the door to her home.
She would always say “Jay-Jay, Alberta (shortened for my dad’s name: James Joseph and my mum’s name Alberta-Bianca), it is too late to go driving back to Nsukka o, you guys must stay over till tomorrow o.”
With delight we turn the house upside down with our horse-play until we were tuckered out.
They had a very big house, with lots of room.
Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
P.S. This article is based on ”my real life story” as recalled from my minds eye as a child.
Quick Glossary
Milken Hill: These hills are found at Ngwo in Enugu North LGA, they are 100 meter above sea level, offering beautiful standpoint for a panoramic view of Enugu metropolis, especially at dawn and dusk. The hill was named after one of the earliest colonial administrator in Enugu. The first road into Enugu city winds through the foot of the hill bounded by a deep gully. Underneath the hills are relics of coal mines and its beautiful tunnels. Beneath the Milken hills is the Iva valley. The hills are good for mountaineering. However, drivers are advised to drive slowly with caution through the meandering roads.
Enugu – One of the State’s in the Eastern part of Nigeria.
Nsukka – A town and Local Government Area in South-East Nigeria in Enugu State
Chief Alex Ekwueme: Former Vice President Alex Ekwueme is one of Nigeria’s most respected statesmen alive today.
Swe – I think this is what is called hopscotch.
Uga – synchronized clapping rhythm of hands followed with feet competition to outwit the other.
Jollof Rice – A popular meal eaten in most West African homes, a one-pot meal made with fried tomato and pepper stew, rice, meat and spices
a cooking pot and twisted tales 