I've found myself awake (again) & thinking (again). But this time, my considerations stray ti the thoughts of fatherhood.
I have seen 2 examples, up close & too personal, of what it means to be a parent. Delightful cherubs can never be prepared for enough. They take your presence for a guarantee of immortality, they blame you for their not being invulnerable, & to add insult to injury, they question why you sqwak vehemently when they literally tempt fate in your presence.
I accept that children are not to be quiet, but to make as much noise as possible, but then no child is generic.
The best child I saw this weekend had his mug covered in Cerelac, sitting on his mother's lap as she hawked vegetables at Bariga market, Lagos.
I caught his eye & smiled at him, as I often do, and he returned my gesture with a toothless grin so cute, I almost burst out cooing at him. But I remembered the social distance between his mother/guardian & I.
I'm not a snob, but I believe I owe myself the responsibility of shielding myself from being insulted due to misunderstanding my attempts at mesalignment. And it has happened in the past. Won't try it again any time soon, if ever at all.
So kids, they are a cause for pause to me. I adore them, just not sure if I can live with them.
Well, now I'm off to take a shower and love myself till I'm clean, dry and ready to sleep.
