Time Flies.
Five years ago, my father passed on. I still miss him. Some days, it does seem like five years. Time really has flown and the sense of loss is not too great: I can think of him, smile and imagine him having really animated discussions, with every heavenly being he meets, on every topic in existence on his side of eternity. Other days though, time does not seem to have gone anywhere and the sense of loss is starkly fresh, a piece of me recently gouged out and just the thought of him brings pain so sharp it hurts to breathe.
But this piece is not about pain.
Five years ago, a month after my Dad passed on, I had to bring my cousin to his college in the U.S. - his Mom, my maternal aunt, couldn't take him as the available date for her visa application interview was a month too late. I remember me and my young cousin - still 4 months shy of 16 - traipsing along the streets of the Drexel Campus, getting him registered, me trying not to argue with the College staff who said he needed to take a particular vaccination despite the fact that he had already taken it in Lagos; the back and forth of getting registered. Opening a bank account. Not being able to get a contract phone - he was too young. And the T-Mobile staff was fascinated that he was in college already! And then finally, dropping him off in his room. Honestly? I did not want to leave him there by himself. I advised him the best I could - get a bike or skateboard (lots of distance to cover - I lost 4lbs in the two days I was there!), study hard, don't get into trouble, hold on to God, go to church and most importantly, have fun! I think his Mom may not have approved of that last bit, but as someone who believes that youth must not be wasted by missing out on being young and having fun, I could not NOT tell him that.
I knew he was in school and time did not stand still, yet I was quite surprised when his Mom told me that my cousin would like for me to be at his graduation. Graduation? How? Already? But, it couldn't be - he JUST went to school, right? And it finally dawned on me - time had "flown" as people are wont to say, and I had not paid attention. In my mind, he was still almost 16 (and I still in my "early 40s, Lol!) and just started college.
The graduation ceremony is tomorrow. He is a Computer Engineering graduate and I am so proud of him. I am here, to see the culmination of something I had a part in its beginning. And I thank God for it.
So, to my cousin, Anthony Ubani Balogun. May God guide and order your steps. May His grace be always with you. And as you start your new job, in a new city, again I say to you "Work hard and well, have fun, stay out of trouble, be safe and hold on to God."
But this piece is not about pain.
Five years ago, a month after my Dad passed on, I had to bring my cousin to his college in the U.S. - his Mom, my maternal aunt, couldn't take him as the available date for her visa application interview was a month too late. I remember me and my young cousin - still 4 months shy of 16 - traipsing along the streets of the Drexel Campus, getting him registered, me trying not to argue with the College staff who said he needed to take a particular vaccination despite the fact that he had already taken it in Lagos; the back and forth of getting registered. Opening a bank account. Not being able to get a contract phone - he was too young. And the T-Mobile staff was fascinated that he was in college already! And then finally, dropping him off in his room. Honestly? I did not want to leave him there by himself. I advised him the best I could - get a bike or skateboard (lots of distance to cover - I lost 4lbs in the two days I was there!), study hard, don't get into trouble, hold on to God, go to church and most importantly, have fun! I think his Mom may not have approved of that last bit, but as someone who believes that youth must not be wasted by missing out on being young and having fun, I could not NOT tell him that.
I knew he was in school and time did not stand still, yet I was quite surprised when his Mom told me that my cousin would like for me to be at his graduation. Graduation? How? Already? But, it couldn't be - he JUST went to school, right? And it finally dawned on me - time had "flown" as people are wont to say, and I had not paid attention. In my mind, he was still almost 16 (and I still in my "early 40s, Lol!) and just started college.
The graduation ceremony is tomorrow. He is a Computer Engineering graduate and I am so proud of him. I am here, to see the culmination of something I had a part in its beginning. And I thank God for it.
So, to my cousin, Anthony Ubani Balogun. May God guide and order your steps. May His grace be always with you. And as you start your new job, in a new city, again I say to you "Work hard and well, have fun, stay out of trouble, be safe and hold on to God."
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