Decades: Chunks of Time

Its here. The D-Day is here. Well, almost. By sunday night, I am going to be a married woman. My name will change, everything will change, even my body. It seemed so far away six months ago. All the shopping, all the mother and daughter fights, everything looks so trivial now. The cake isnt ready, the gown is ready. The bridesmaids dresses are alright, the chief bridesmaid's dress has not even been sewn yet. The flowers for everybody has not arrived yet. And my hairdresser wants to rob me blind, but its too short a notice to get another. I cannot remember where I hid the marriage license and I am looking for some of the gift money. One of my bridesmaids is acting very funny and we are thinking that the service boys from the caterer might not cover the whole event. Why do I have to fix artificial nails? And must my hairdo be gel? Can't I just set my hair in a curl or wave? The video guy is bugging us for his advance payment, and I still have to pay for the hair pieces for the br...

Tis amazing what we take for granted everyday...Got to church yesterday in less than 10 mins thanks to Bikermice from Mars [I'll miss them when I move to Abuja!]. As I went up then down the ped bridge briskly, all that was on my mind was getting to church. I stepped into Church and all that changed. It seemed my hip had shifted. I could barely put any weight on my right leg. It was awful. I developed a limp as I entered the church. I gunned for the very first available seat at the back. I could barely put pressure on the hip even while sitting. I wondered what I had done to cause it to happen. Was it my diet? For two weeks I have stayed away from rice, white bread, and yam. Considering that that was the staple in my household, you can understand that it was with supreme effort that I was sticking to that regime. I am loving the effects already as my clothes are really loose around my body, but I am lacking carbohydrates - it would have been total if not for the spaghetti I consume ...

He who finds a wife, has found a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord. The day was filled with soo many things that I love...let me start listing them: I love my cousin's wedding dress, It was a lovely sequinned dress with a sloping wrap that fitted her like a second skin. It had a lovely thin veil that was like cobwebs spun in a pattern, and she was soooo beautiful (am tired of using that word, but it is soo appropriate). I love the cool look her groom was in, the smooth suit, and the lovely smile with tears in his eyes. I love the ties the grooms men were wearing. I love the dresses we had on - so glad I was part of the train. I love the vows they exchanged - I had to fight tears several times during the service. It didnt help that I look so much like the bride and everyone was staring at me and wondering where I sprung from. and you know when I cry - my face just screws up, and I didnt want to spoil the lovely makeup I had on. I love the pictures we took afterwards at the...

Ok, so yesterday, I went for the bridesmaid dress fitting. The first agony was locating the Tailor's shop. I had to reach Ojuelegba before taking a Mushin bus that took me back in the direction I was coming from but on the other side. The shop is called La - Beth, and they are specialists in making women's corporate suits and other stuff. I know she's a professional cos my cousin's mum has been using her services for the past 20 yrs - and believe me, if the lady can satisfy my aunt's impeccable, society-conscious taste, then she's on equal grounds with international designers anywhere. After locating the shop, they had to locate my dress, and then I entered the cubicle to wear it. It looked exactly like what was in the picture, but the arm holes were too oblong, and one pad was missing (Ladies, I didnt know that there were pads for the bra area too. Is that supposed to make the dress more fitted? Or to encourage the braless phenomenon since the nipples are not e...

Starting from the last line where you said, 'that is all' - No my dear, that is not all We have a lot to talk about, a lot to catch up on, We have a lot to hash up, we have a lot to forgive of each other. We have come a long way, and like trees planted beside each other, we have grown apart. It was inevitable, and inimitable, but the thing is,we are still friends. We have a lot to look back on, together a lot to smile and laugh about, a lot to argue about. There is history for us, and we also have one more thing... We have the future to build a stronger friendship We have tomorrow to ensure that we stay close, we have learnt from the past and we have the rest of our time on earth to ensure that nothing comes in between. We have a long list of memories to weave - our weddings, our children's naming ceremonies and graduations, and a lot more. We have TIME...that is if you are willing to take my hand in friendship again. I'm waiting.....

So where did I stop? Oh. Those people who would put down anything just to say they contributed to something. But the bride didn't even budge, since she had compromised enough on that very gown by adjusting it to fit the 'standard', there was no way she was going to let it bother her. I admire that. The second wedding was also lovely. And larger. It was in an ancient Seventh-day adventist church in Ile-Ife, and it was packed full as well, both with Nigerians here and in the diaspora. I was feeling okay and looking forward to seeing Vicky who managed to come for the engagement and wedding. He covered some of the wedding with the camcorder I brought. He was so happy to see his friends, that his conscience didn't bother him that he 'ran' from the office with a fake sick leave. You should have seen the smile on his face. I loved it. Back to the wedding, I loved the gown, and the colors chosen for the wedding. I loved the wedding website as well, its something I can c...

This week, starting from the beginning (Sunday of course), till the end (Thanksgiving Service on Sabbath - Saturday). It started off with Busayo Ola's wedding on Sunday, and ends with Biola Kolade's wedding thanksgiving service on Saturday. I actually attended both weddings. I use the word actually because, for the first, it was a painful sacrifice, and for the second, I went out of my way to attend it.The first wedding day dawned with my head being pounded continually by a sledge hammer (Literarily, I woke up with a blasting headache). I was shivering and I had body pains all over. These were my usual Malaria symptoms, but I wasn't going to allow anything to hold me down that day, not even the sledge hammer.I had to go to the bride's house to get my attire, and it turned out to fit me like a second skin - too tight. I had actually visited the house twice to get the dress, which was sown for me by the Bride's tailor. I had sent my measurements via text to the Bride...

Man proposes but God disposes. At least it was so in my case. I had great plans to carry out when I got to Lagos, but here I am with less than half carried out. And time is running out - its so fast! I wonder where the day goes everyday. The weddings are so close now, its like its tomorrow. I cant wait! I still have to get my dress for the first one, but I hope it wont need adjustments. I seem to have lost so much weight - my mum screamed when she saw me. My whole family still cant believe that I could be this slim - and I am still complaining that I seem to stop at size 12! Don't mind me. I'll fill you in with each detail!

It looks like everyone that I knew ten years ago will be in Nigeria this August. It brings back the title of this blog: Chunks of time. Ten years have gone by - more likely flown by and everyone has become someone else. I wonder how we will all relate to each other. Some of us have kept the communication going all this while, but some have not. The question will always come up: "So what are you doing now? Where are you based?". Thank God I have an answer. It'll not be funny if I didn't. Ten years have gone by, what have you been doing with your life? Have you been living in the past? Or dreaming about the future? What plans have you brought to fruition? Are you what you wanted to be ten years ago? All these questions keep going through my head. Weddings are events of joy and happiness. They are avenues that God created for us to see that love does exist. And they are constant reminders that no one, absolutely nobody, stays in the same spot. Everyone [should] moves for...

I am sure I have lost most of whatever following I had cultivated. Its not that I didnt hae anything to say, just that I had not been able to log onto the net. Over. So, I am getting ready to fly down to Lagos to attend the two weddings of the century - for those of us that attended ASHS anyway! And I can't wait! But I have to finish the work in front of me before I go. Arrrrgh! ASHS stands for Adventist Seminary High School, which is now Babcock University High School. One of the weddings coming up has both of them - bride and groom as alumni, from the days the school was started, and to think they started their relationship just after they entered college. It makes me wonder who the cynic was that said love does not last. Cos if I back date it, the relationship started in 1998 or thereabout. Its almost 10 years now, and they are not only still together, getting married! Who said love cannot stand the test of time? They have also been separated for long periods of time - about 5 y...