As a child I'd always ask my Mom to give me a baby. I was so in-love with babies that I would sneak out of home to visit nursing mothers that lived close by; I'd spend hours with their babies forgetting that I would be scolded and spanked for spending such a long time out.
One day, I went to visit a certain nursing mother. I spent hours playing with the crawling baby. When the baby was about to feed, I was also offered two pieces of biscuit which I ate, then afterwards slept of till early hours of the night. I was just 8 years old. My parents started searching for me, they found me at this neighbour's house deeply asleep, they weren't suprised, they knew i’d be there.
Everyone was of the opinion that the nursing mother would have sent me home before it got dark, so, my parents queried why she left me at her house till that early hours of the night. Her reply was that she didn't want to obstruct my sleep. I was taken home and seriously spanked and scolded. I was also warned to desist from going from house to house looking for babies to carry and play with, I only responded by asking my mother to pls give me a baby. To me, that was the only solution.
Fast forward to years later,I took up the responsibility of caring for my nephew, while his mother was away. He was only two years old. It was a WOW feeling for me, I was extremely happy and ready for that responsibility. I resumed the role of his mother, practically taking care of him. I taught him to be open minded and speak his mind. Yes! It is a big deal in Africa where children are taught to keep quiet, watch and obey the elderly ones. I provided a friendly and free space for my nephew to always verbalise his opinion, he was able to ask questions, discuss issues he doesn't understand and confided in me in every way possible. We became best friends and would talk about anything he wanted to talk about.
For the years he was in my care, his mother would only visit, spend a few days and leave. She had a young business she was growing, so taking him along would be a huge distraction, so she said. She was and still is very thankful and grateful to me for being such a wonderful mom to her son.
My nephew is grown now, he's still my best friend, still confides in me rather than any other person, even his mom. He would tell his mom that when he grows into a man and starts making his own money that I would be the first person he would buy a car for. His mom doesn't dare get jealous, she understands her son's sentiment towards me.
Here is the most interesting part of the story. When my nephew was three, he became so sick and was rushed to the hospital. He was admitted and the doctor requested for a blood donor. My parents were there, but I didn't think they should be the ones to donate, so I offered to donate 2 pint of blood as requested by the doctor. My blood sample was taken for testing. A few moments later the laboratory technician sent for me. I went in and for hours they ouldn't find my veins. Because it was sudden and urgent, i was tensed and emotional, my veins was not easily accessible. But,I Insisted, so they kept trying but their efforts were futile. At this point I started crying not because of the pain from the large bore needles, but because I felt like I've failed my nephew. I felt so responsible for him that the thought of not being able to donate my blood brought an unending tears to my eyes. The Laboratory Director felt so much compassion for me that he had to offer to donate to save my nephew’s life. While he left to give his blood for testing, the other person in the room tried as much as he could to show me empathy and support. The Director's blood was screened, and he ended up being the donor.
Later that same day, the other guy came to the children's ward to check on my nephew's progress. The first question he asked was " is he your son?" and we engaged in a heated conversation, when he found out that he was my nephew, he was taken aback. We exchanged numbers and developed a platonic relationship. Few years later, he left my village and we ceased communication. Two years ago he reached out to me, he is now living and working in the USA. In September last year, he sent me a gift, an IPhone. His testimony is that he was so moved by the show of love I displayed towards my nephew at the hospital, "i will never forget" he added.
A love that he refers to as, "that of A MOTHER"
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