Tag: Parenting

Everyday People · Quotes For You

An honest job…Everyday Beautiful People # 11

jacquelineobyikocha11 Comments

‘The honest work of yesterday has lost its social status, its social esteem’  Peter Drucker

1459278639809

Though he’s employed to clean, I think it’s rude for people to finish eating at a fast-food public area, get up and go their merry way, while leaving their litter behind. Meanwhile, the trash can is just behind them :/

I don’t think that it will take a minute to put these things away and to teach children to clear up after themselves. I can understand getting up and leaving used plates behind in a proper dining, fine restaurant since a waiter/waitress attends to guests and will possibly earn a tip.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

Midnight motivation and musings

Midnight Motivations and Musings // 48…

jacquelineobyikocha23 Comments

1459588727421[1]

Opportunity is taking the situation that you are in and turning it around on its head to make some sense out of it. Opportunity is not going to traipse lazily and knock on your door begging you to pick it up.

Opportunity is not going to traipse lazily and knock on your door begging you to pick it up and it’s not everyone that will have a Cinderella story to tell. Some will have to work their way out of the grate of cinders with all the smoke and never a pair of dainty slippers to lose or Prince galloping to the rescue.

Some will have to work their way out of the grate of cinders with all the smoke and never a pair of dainty slippers to lose or Prince galloping to the rescue.

Adapting to the situation that life presents us is the first key to getting ahead.

Finding the positives that such a situation has to offer and tailoring it to serve some worthwhile purpose in your life is turning an ordinary occasion into a great and well-optimized opportunity.

Your story is an opportunity. Your life is an opportunity. Your art is an opportunity. Your photos are opportunities. Your speaking strength could be an opportunity. Your baking is an opportunity. Your cooking is an opportunity. Your parenting is an opportunity.

Opportunity abounds. Use them as well as you can.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

 

Featured Blogs · Uncategorized

Featured posts #27…Let me share your post links.

jacquelineobyikocha1 Comment

1456149614808[1]

‘PLEASE KEEP SENDING IN THE LINKS.’

Today’s featured blogs are:

A fairy tale with a twist A number of you might know how fond of Maria I am and her pictures never fail to gladden my heart. They are VISUAL pleasures. HOWEVER, this link is not about her photo. It’s a scintillating bit about Maria’s personal story. I have read it. I like it very much. I want to read more 😉 Told in simple words, yet very compelling.

The value of Mr. M Diya’s post really put a small on my face. We really don’t know what we have until it’s not there, or the value of others until they are gone. A refreshing read.

Is this mommy life Introducing Mandea a new blogging neighbour of mine. I read her article ‘SELL YOURSELF‘ which I find very interesting because it’s a quandary many of us find ourselves in. Do say hello.

Deb Was Here My girl Deb is talented, humorous; friendly, candid; community minded, and lots more. One to have as a blogging neighbour.

The Heartbreaker Amunala is a new, upcoming blogger in our midst. Do step in and show some love.

Master Mel’s attention to fine details is superb and this is the comment that I made:  ‘Your attention to detail is impeccable Mel. You’ve created so much imagery that it’s only natural to imagine and paint these things in one’s mind.’

Please visit their blogs and say hello. A few minutes may gain you a friendly support.

‘Do you want more eyes on your words?’

Well then, add your LINK INTO THIS LOOP.

P.S. Comments are disabled here to keep the loop tidy. Any comments or link you want to send can be added through the link in the post.

Thank you for your understanding and regards.

‘We create a cohesive community when we come together.’

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

Fiction · Friday Fiction in Five Sentences · Short Stories

Picnic in the parlour…Friday Fiction In Five Sentences

jacquelineobyikocha21 Comments

 

 

Angela looks out of the window in delight at the fair weather, the Sun’s rays wink from beneath the clouds.

Ah! Finally, a beautiful day to frolic, riding bicycles and having a picnic in the park.

It’s a good day today, she hums to herself, rousing the boys from their computer games to assemble the items for an outdoor foray.

The rumble of Thunder, gives pause to her delight and true to type, the fickle weather has changed it’s mind.

We shall just have to have this picnic in the living room she mutters in deflation.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

Image credit: Pixabay.com

Blog · Haiku · Humor - Bellyful of laughter

Dragging Feet…Ronovan Writes Weekly Poetry Haiku

jacquelineobyikocha36 Comments

Mama, are you saying that 

I really have to take a shower

Before I get to play?

The pair of words: ‘Shower and Play’  Ronovan gave us for this week brought a smile to my face.

It reminds me of certain conversation that goes on in my household between me and my youngest.

With sweet wide eyes  looking at me full of expectations that he will get a pass.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

Family · Personal

Humbly Eating Burnt Offering…Streams of consciousness Saturday.

jacquelineobyikocha29 Comments

I smile in amusement as I write this little post. If not that Easter eggs are popping up every where, my thought would have been that Linda has bionic powers to see into my kitchen.

I just finished breakfast of partially burnt scrambled eggsSoCS badge 2015 offered by my daughter. We are learning to cook and I guess burning is part of the practice 🙂

I humbly ate the eggs with a thankful heart. Soon enough she will get the hang of it with practice.

I think fleetingly back to my growing up years and learning how to cook in my mother’s kitchen. Only God knows how many burnt pots of rice, yam, beans, soup, I had to go through before getting into it.

Eggs were treats back then, eaten mostly on Saturday and Sundays because we had to wait for our local, home bred chickens to lay enough of them and on some days during the week, they were stingy or lazy with the laying of the eggs.

It’s not like now, where trays and trays of different types of eggs are on display for customers to choose as many crates as they wish.

Back then, it used to be a delight to go to the chicken coop at the back and find a warm, just laid egg.

Occasionally we were blessed with seeing a little chick hatch from eggs that my grandma set aside.

How she knew the ones that would hatch is something that I never understood.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

Family · Health

Sometimes, it pours heavily….

jacquelineobyikocha23 Comments

1458115003803[1]

Today, I have so much to say, yet I fail to know where to start from.

Life is such that we honestly have no inclination what the next hour will bring our way, much less the next day, week or year.

Our lives hang in the daily delicate balance of providence and most times, we don’t get to chose what happens to us, but the only thing that we can choose is how to react to the curves on the path of our journey and not losing grip of ourselves.

We also get to choose friends who journey along with us on life’s path and a whole lot of times, they serve as a prop and support on those shaky days.

My heart knows a lot of thanks for the restoration of health of my family members and an enormous sense appreciation for the huge outpouring of gracious wishes from all of you on my birthday on Sunday.

Your thoughts warmed me.

Regardless of the fact that online relationships may appear untenable due to it’s nature, we should never fail to appreciate or undermine the strength and support that we have in our friends and we truly have no idea the beautiful far reaching effects of these friendships.

‘It’s until you are caught in the rain that you realize that a tattered umbrella has it’s good sides.’

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

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

Personal

A ball of sadness in me…Streams of Consciousness Saturday.

jacquelineobyikocha25 Comments

Linda mentions ‘ball’ as today’s prompt and I think of the different balls that I am playing with right now.SoCS badge 2015

The fleeting thought of my young sons ball comes to my mind and I pray his fever will break so that he can play happily.

It’s my birthday tomorrow and I should be preparing to have a ball, but I am just not feeling it.

A few days ago, I was excited and gearing for an awesome day and I still hope to, but when you have a child a little bit down, the last thing on your mind is a ball.

However the big ball that forms in my stomach makes me feel so sad and almost reluctant to talk about it.

As much as I can, I avoid race talks because it only stirs up strong emotions.

Last night a friend sent a video of a black girl being pushed around and insulted and insulted by some guy’s – white.

I wanted to stop watching it, but I continued. By the end of that short video, I had tears in my eyes and just felt so heavy.

I can’t even begin to articulate all the thoughts that went through my head.

My question has always been, are we not all human? Why are some people like this? What’s the benefit of such ugliness and discrimination?

We claim to be different, to be enlightened, we claim not being racists, yet at every turn it stares us in the face.

These boys who pushed a young girl about and called her ugly names, learnt it from somewhere and most likely their homes.

Racism is learnt ‘cos no child is born that way.

I have no answers just a ball of sadness that sits in me and I obviously went to bed with that thought and it’s been more so on my mind after watching the fiasco of American campaign trails in Chicago.

I strive to teach my children to work hard and rise up and above expectations.

I try to teach them that before God all men are equal.

I try to teach them to embrace life with an open mind, but sometimes society makes playing this ball so hard.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

Life · Musings

Tuesdays Trickles…My thinking corner.

jacquelineobyikocha10 Comments

Every Tuesday, I share snippets of thoughts that I call ‘My Thinking Corner.’

I would like to invite you to participate. The challenge is quite simple.

Each Tuesday, share your very short snippets of positive, inspiring, motivating, health, spiritual, writing advice, clips, posts etc, that can serve as a prop to motivate others and simply add my link to your post.

I call it my thinking corner because, I actually take out a bit of time just to think through things, encapsulate my thoughts as much as possible and detoxify my mind.

It might work for you in a different way, but the idea is to get the positive thoughts flowing.

Please send in your little thoughts. You never know whose life you might inspire.

1457420329862[1]

  • We cannot plow our fields by sitting under the shaded tree, chewing on a twig and turning the garden of our dreams in our minds. Our hands must get dirty in the muck and the hoe.
  • To climb up to that success ladder, you must unfold those hands cradling your chin and hold the ladder.
  • Your children can teach a lot of great life lessons, especially in patience. You will realize how elastic your patience truly is.
  • Life has no short cuts except you wish to cut it short.
  • A lot of people want to be somebody notable. Be patient and be yourself first of all. There’s a whole lot of being in you.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

Our Thinkers Thoughts came in from:

Giggles & Tales prayers from the heart shows us that the only way is really to put those difficulties into prayers.

Dollops of heedful ramblings simple message is age old and yet has never gone out of fashion.

Annette’s message gives me lot’s of hope for indeed, you are never too old to dream a new dream.

Friends on my mind can I count on you or are you there just when it’s all beautiful?

Honest me I fell in love with this. Wish I could find one for my house.

Deb’s words of wisdom are little nuggets that speaks volumes.

Parenting with purpose Seye’s colourful messages always grabs my attention.

Thank you to all the contributors. May these words take roots in our lives and may our harvest be bountiful 🙂

‘So, when will you share those nuggets of wisdom of yours?’

Humor - Bellyful of laughter · Monday Motivations · Quotes For You

Monday Meme

jacquelineobyikocha35 Comments

Continue reading “Monday Meme” →