A year

That shocked and ravaged us.

Debilitated and devastated

Tested our resolve

And often found us wanting.

The year of the unknown quantity

And dangerous lessons.

The year of life

Hanging by a string.

So I'm sitting in the doctor's office, where she's perusing the results of a routine blood test a little too closely for my liking. Covid-19 has obviously thrown out the 10 minute rule (which, quite honestly, I always ignored, but now want back!)

I'm about to ask if there's a problem when she says, "I think you need to make some changes to your diet."

"What sort of changes?" I ask warily.

She mutters something about Omega fatty acids, and I perk up.

"Oh, I love anchovies!"

To which she queries, "What about flaxseeds and walnuts?"

👁 

Christmas is undeniably special, whatever you believe in. If anything at all. A palpable sense of excitement competes with a breathless air of anticipation. Some await the gift of family and friends; some simply gifts, and others the gift of life. Something for everyone.

The day a podiatrist told me to stop doing Aerobics was one of the happiest days of my life! I tried very hard to hide my glee, but I'm quite sure he caught it. Nonetheless, I managed a tortured, "Oh no! I love my Aerobics class!!" For effect.

Who knew that when Benjamin Disraeli said that, "there are lies, damn lies, and statistics", one ultra-fib would embody all three degrees of his statement?

So, it turns out there is a single word for the life the average Nigerian - young and old - has deliberately and needlessly been plunged into over the last sixty years.

PRECARITY: noun

● “a state of existence in which material provision and psychological wellness are adversely affected by a lack of regular or secure income.”

I used to hate surprises, but liked being surprised. An oxymoron-gone-awry? Yup!

Surprise? You arrive home with bad hair, in boyfriend jeans, grubby tee and flip-flops, only to be serenaded by thirty runway-ready eager guests...

Being surprised? The totally unexpected, but with distinctly unembarrassing possibilities... Note my caution either way; latent control-freak dreading one, but circling the other.