Steem4nigeria Accelerator Contest Week 110: Family Moments
Hi, friends
It's a pleasure to have you here. This week's topic for the accelerator contest speaks to me. It's something you and I can easily resonate with: family.
The family is the most important unit in our society. It's the one place that can make or break you. It is like the foundation that prepares you for the challenges you'd encounters in life.
I have a lot of stories to share about my family. If I must be candid, they are not all rosy. As Morticia Addams once said, "Every family has its secrets". Dirty, spooky secrets. Regardless of these "secrets", my family remains one of the best gifts nature has given to me. A gift that I'd choose again and again.
In this post, I'd tell you some of the most amazing thing about my family.
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My family is made up of a large number of people — nuclear and extended combined. One common trait we share is being peace-loving. I come from a home where peace is chosen over violence. Love is shared in place of hate. And kindness is served on a plate of gold.
The villagers call us "ubon emem" — peaceful family. In fact, they bring their disputes to us because they believe that we can restore peace amicable between aggrieved parties.
This stems from our strong belief in the Christian faith. Growing with my grandparents, the last and current generations made it a duty to instill the spirit of peace in each one of us. This reflects in how we talk to people, how we treat others (including those who treat us unkindly) and how we react to things.
Beyond the lessons, I also have many fun memory about my family. My best moments were the days we visited the village as kids. We had the habit of coming out at night to sing and dance under the moon light. My cousins were around then. We'd sing our local folklores, clap so loudly and ask our eldest uncle whom we call "grandpa" to dance.
My innocent uncle would oblige with a walking stick in his hands. He'd made funny sounds which would make us laugh and clap harder.
Those little sacrifices he made, despite his health condition, helped bond us together. We also got to learn about our culture and family history.
People see how I approach life calmly and wonder why I am able to do that so effortlessly. However, this is something I learnt from my family.
Children learn by emulation. My family members made effort to act as role models. They knew that this was the most effective way to raise us rather than running around with whips and shouting endlessly.
Today, staying jovial and down-to-earth have helped me build healthier relationships with people. I'm grateful to my family for this.
I wish that I could go back to those days my siblings and cousins stayed together. Now, everyone is married with kids and the cost of living wouldn't let us fly out of the country or state anyhow.
