Yoga Pose
The new yoga week began on a high note. Our niece Sandra came into H-town. This is her second home, when you consider this is her fifth visit in three years, since my family moved back from London.
There’s a nice surprise lurking around every corner, if you open your eyes wide enough. Yep…we saw this alright. Sandra took Kimmy’s spot in our yoga class, softening the blow of Kimmy’s absence. Like Kimmy, she was no stranger to yoga, and our Raquel instantly took to her. Her first class with us was hilarious, she could not contain her laughter seeing us contort into such amazing postures, and she like Raquel, had youth on her side.
We had a good session and after class, we properly introduced them to each other. Fran was unusually quiet. We discovered she was feeling quite uncomfortable from mild to intense pain around her abdominal regions, which had made yoga difficult to do. We all expressed concern, urging her to make sure she schedules an appointment with her doctor.
Later during that weekend was a party to celebrate Cassie’s birthday. Cassie is Fran’s youngest child and we both share the same month, so it was a double celebration. Our entire family, bar those out of the country, all congregated at Fran’s for the celebration and it was a fantastic party. There was lots of delicious food and drinks. Everyone, young and old, had a blast. We started preparing to head home around 10pm, when Fran complained of more pain. We thought it was gas this time and asked her to take some antacids.
The teenagers, my son and his cousin, opted to spend the night. Ordinarily, we would have objected to them spending Saturday night away from home, as it would mean missing out on Sunday service. We had no idea the universe was once again, taking over our affairs. It turned out that much later, around 3 am, Fran’s pain had become unbearable and she needed to visit the ER. Her husband was still out with his friends. So the responsibility fell on one of the teenagers. One of them had to drive her to the ER, while the other stayed behind with the little ones.
We were not aware of these developments until about 8am, when her husband called to tell us Fran was about to undergo emergency surgery. We were panicked, but our mom was the worst culprit. Surgery! Who was the surgeon? Was he a good doctor? We went on Google to check him out. As it turned out, the husband of a former employee of ours, and friend to Fran, worked in the hospital. Gert got on the phone to Debra, who in turn gave her husband a call, to make inquiries on our behalf. Nothing prepared us for the next surprise. It turned out Debra’s husband works with this surgeon, and in his own words, said, “If I had to have this particular procedure, no other surgeon would be my choice.” Talk about finding favor from the universe, huh!
Gert and I went to the surgeon and he explained that Fran was the luckiest woman alive. Owing to triple cesarean deliveries, she had developed too many scar tissues which in turn twisted her lower intestines so badly, it obstructed blood flow. Consequently, owing to nature being ever so adaptive, the intestines starved of life, twisted around in an attempt to find an alternate means of bypassing the blocking tissues, and as a result, left her a twisted mess. More importantly, if she had come into to the ER any later than she had, a rupture would unfortunately have occurred. To the end that she would have carried a colostomy pouch about for quite a long while.
To say goodness and mercy followed would be an understatement, a great abundance of favor has been showered on my family, and with much humility and grace, we accept and still thank the almighty being for his grace.
Considering recent occurrences, it would easy to assume that there were forces somewhere out there, determined to distract us from our new-found path, but thanks to the positive energy constantly surrounding us, we thankfully did not give in to this line of thinking.
In the aftermath of Fran’s operation, she had to be off yoga for about six weeks. Luckily, all this coincided with Sandra’s visit. Our class would have whittled down from four to two, after the unexpected exit of Fran and Kimmy. However, Sandra’s presence helped us maintain high spirits, while motivating her to reacquaint herself with yoga once more.
Later that weekend during a chat with Su’, he told me he and Bubb had a surprise for me; a belated Birthday present. I was moved by their gesture, but was not prepared for the gift they had in mind. They collaborated to write a poem in my honor: Upon The Aging Sands, and Su’ wrote a beautiful narrative about me: Smiles, Sighs and Groans: A birthday tale. Every word and every phrase oozed candor and love. I could feel the essence of both of them, seeping through every line. This was sheer love. Proof, that when you do open your heart to the unknown, abundance will always make its back way to you.
After reading these, the rest of that week was simply blissful. I virtually floated about.
As for Sandra, her stay was as expected, filled with laughter and fun, as she’s freakishly addicted to my little kids. In between cupcakes, devil food cakes and major spoiling, the children were delirious from too much love and attention. Whenever she was done doting over the kids, we did our adult things: clubs and a few parties here and there, until it was that time for goodbyes again.
At Bush Intercontinental, she hugged me that evening, taking my mind back to all we had been through together over the years, and yet again, I swelled with appreciation and joy. This journey certainly has opened up a whole lot of roads, as far as thinking and state of mind is concerned; it was not just the chants and affirmations, but being tested as we went along and each test bearing a lesson we somehow manage to grasp at the end.
My kids in Naijaland Su’ and Bubb are each an inspiration to me. They don’t think or contemplate issues; they go ahead and do what they need to do. I love the bravery with which they face life, never worrying about failure or obstacles. These last few weeks has seen little communication between us. However, this has a lot to do with end of year hustles and deadlines etc. If all we end up doing is a quick “Hey” on Whatsapp, this goes down well with me and always hits the right spot. What more could a gal possibly want?
In the New Year, the next segment of my diary will continue. Then, perhaps I could acquaint you a little more with my immediate family…hubby and the wonderful seven. This should make for some really interesting read, trust me. We are a fun-loving lot, lol.
It’s nearing Thanksgiving and Christmas, a lot of emotions run haywire around this time and a lot of memories are dragged up. It’s a period of extreme pressure, usually for me, personally. Though a little nervous, I’m confident that my new way of life will hold up and my heart and soul will not fail. I hope you have enjoyed and gained a thing or two, maybe even three from all my banter, and I wish you and yours the very best of this holiday season.
See you back here in January, when I will continue with our wonderful adventure with life. May God bless us all.
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