That was me in the middle of my two brothers, my mini-daddies; my big bros @peman is putting the white tie. I still have some joy left in me then, it was my late momma's birthday back in December 2009. Hard for me to get a digital copy of my childhood pictures, took me days to get hold of this for the purpose of my Journal.
Steemit Blockchain Memory Project
is a project aimed at sharing some of your memories whether good or bad on Steemit, Give it a try and let the memory be retained for your kids, and kid's kids!
Mixed Childhood
Childhood was bitter, dad died few days before my third birthday in 1988 and momma decided not to remarry or date anyone because of her three boys. Twenty-five years later, momma passed away without any payback from her boys for all her suffering and sacrifice; a part of me that still mourns and deprived of full happiness each time I remember my last night with my dear mother before passing away overnight. This is not the tale of her demise but a glimpse into my past, a life without father or extended families; the period of my life when responsibilities of adults became that of kids.
"Collective Parenting"
My childhood was characterized by loneliness because mama had to study more to get better job hence the boys start to self-sustain at a very tender age. My eldest bro was just 9 when we started staying home alone while mom goes for weekend classes; Boy those three two days were so damn long because my brothers never handle me as a baby brother but as a peer. Before momma gets back I must have gotten a black eye or a swollen lip, the reason is that I never backed down. I could take on my brothers irrespective of my tiny stature, I was born naturally with dreadlocks called "DADA" which makes me aggressive and never getting tired by nature. Myth and Legend have it that "Dada's" are descendant of Samson from the Bible, so I was strong for my age and small physique.
People and neighbors marvel at how Brave and confidence my momma was leaving us that young and not entrusting us to the care of babysitters or a family member, little did they know that we actually can't afford a babysitter and my mom never trusted anybody else to care for her kids. This forced us to learn how to stay indoors for days without stepping outside, that was a major offense if you go out without "boss-lady's" consent, if you are rebellious and you violate that rule, you have jeopardized any goodies coming to you and your siblings. We know this so we don't break that rule; except for me; I have put myself and my brothers into dire conditions because I am obsessed with tree climbing. Mama knows this, and she knew she can't punish us all for long for my sins so she forgives myself and siblings very often and developed others means of isolated punishments.
"My mom was the Daddy and at the same time my mother"
So the collective duties of a dad fell on my older brothers; they pick me up from school each day, cooked my meal before mom gets back from work. Takes me to church, do my dishes and stay home with me on school days when am sick. When one of the boys is sick, the three of us gets sicks; it's such a strange phenomenal until teenage years.
We never had much luxury as kids, no toys, less new clothes; momma's main priority is eating healthy means so we could remain sharp body and soul which really worked. The boys were all smart and brilliant in class, physically healthy and mentally alert. On days when momma was around, as a teacher; she gives her boys home tutoring and I must confess this is the worst part of my childhood. In class, I am always like 6 modules ahead with intense lashes hours of detention as my mom called it, you mess up in a Home class you spend hours locked up in a room with dozens of exercises to be done and submitted before a certain time. That gave me an extreme edge over my mates in class, I always come first; anything below third for me is trouble.
I was involved in a lot of interstate Mathematics and English Competitions, child genius I was called then in school but an average student to my momma. Why she never handled my older brothers that way still baffles me till date. Pity I could not ask her for she passed away few years ago.
There so many moments of my childhood that could be made into an entire movie, but these are just extracts for readers to have a glimpse into my past before stumbling upon the Blockchain. Below is myself and my eldest brother who I was successful to drag unto steemit, unlike my immediate brother who still never gave it a shot. Though my Big Brother @peman has lost some hope in this platform but am gonna surprise him with earnings from this Blog.
This is just a general introductory part of my childhood, going into details of happenings years back would be cumbersome to read all in one blog. Thanks to @ericvancewalton for this privilege to share some of my memories through the Steemit Blockchain Memory Project
initiative!
HeyFriends. Check out some of my latest amateur writing below. I appreciate all the support I have gotten from you all!
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