I was
running late for a meeting this morning when I got a call. It was from a lady.
The caller ID wasn’t displayed meaning I didn’t have it stored on my roving
Nokia Torchlight phone. The moment I gave my official response “Hello,
Goodmorning”, the caller broke the official code and began to joke. I couldn’t
bear to ask who I was speaking with so I tried to decode the voice and I did.
She went on and on, being thankful that I finally picked her call. I gave as
many lame but true reasons as I could ascribe to my recent silence and incommunicado attitude.
She went on
to ask that I shouldn’t forget to visit her on the 14th. May be you
didn’t get that right because I also didn’t the first time she said it. She was
asking that I should be around on Valentine’s day. Oh my goodness! Did someone
just ask me out? Did I just get an invite to be someone’s val? My very first
invitation for a valentine’s day out? Wow! Just wow!
I have
never had the urge to be
a crowd member, no matter what the occasion may be. I
never really valued Val’s day, may be due to the fact that everyone I knew was
all so hyped about the so called Lover’s Day. This year however, seems to be
different. I wasn’t asking out. I was asked out. I was so humbled, I felt like
I mattered to somebody. I kept thinking all day why she had to ask me. Then it
dawned on me that Love is all we truly owe. Not cash, not kind, not else. Just
Love!
Maybe you
haven’t glimpsed my viewpoint yet. A little about the lady that asked me out
might help…
This lady
is one that is so homely; she knows what it means to be a wife-material…for
better, for worse kind-of-thing. She has a heart that is so motherly you wish
for nothing better. Her emotions are so on point, she couldn’t hurt a fly, she
was selfless, sacrificial, loving and above all, she was strong in her own way.
She has lived all her adult life in a country away from her true home, yet you
couldn’t tell unless you came close. I felt no pressure whenever I was around
her except that I wish I were financially more stable than I am. I hope you see
my point now but I will buttress it further…
She is a
lady of not less than 50 years, a wife of 35 years and a mother of five (5) full
grown adults. Her husband has selflessly toiled for our country Nigeria having
left his home country, Ghana many, many years back. His toil produced me and
many of my kind back then in primary school for he was our teacher. Our
unforgettable teacher. He was an epitome of excellence and hard work fused with
discipline and dedication. He was what we would safely and confidently call: a
foundation layer. He dug us out and laid us strong. He was someone we owed our all
to.
He remained
his instrumental self until ill health began to ravage his body and after many
years of fighting the disease, he died. Mrs. Danso’s husband died on the day
that lover’s thrilled one another to the tune of love. He died on the 14th
February last year. My Val date is a Widow
He could
have chosen not to part that way or would have chosen another day if it were in
his power. He died on a day that would always remind his family of his passing.
Mr. Danso gave Valentine another meaning. One that comes with mixed feelings.
His death redefined the Val., I have come to know. I wonder how it is for those
he left behind.
I feel strongly
that this Val shouldn’t be passed as one likened to the others gone. I urge
that we should all step out and show true love, void of all erotic tendencies,
you do not have to spend all the borrowed cash or become a financial stripper
because you must prove a point. You could pay an unexpected visit or schedule a
surprise contact with someone who may not have ever felt special before. You
could just go out of your way to make someone cherished.
It should
be understood that we do not a special day to do all that, but since the world
has developed a liking for occasions like this, then lets chance on this and make
that day unforgettable for someone or some people, could be family, colleague,
children, loved ones, neighbours or even strangers. Whatever you do, make sure
that you are someone’s Val. Make sure of it. As special as you would want to
feel, make another feel so. It’s a profitable investment.
Val’s day
is not all about making lovers feel loved or a chance to date someone new.
Everyday should be an opportunity to show love, especially to those who truly
yearn for it.
I look forward to valentine’s day because I
have an invite. I have a date. Do you have a date yourself? If not go out and
get one.
Remember
you do not need money to show love, you do not need a special environment, you
already have all you need, your humble self, you true expression of love, you
could say it, or show it, call it or text it. However it goes ,make sure
someone FEELS you for real.
You have a
week to be set. So prepare to go out and show love, true selfless love!
and do drop your comments. Many
thanks
