Issue 1: I almost forgot to write today

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I almost forgot to write today, even though I wrote to you yesterday about starting a 30-days writing streak.

I have no topics in mind to write about during the period, so I’ll either be writing what comes to mind randomly as at the time of writing, a new thing I learnt, a happening in my life or a notable event during the day.

Today, I want to write about some of the things I’m grateful for. Although I’m not where I aspire to be, I know that there are many things that I’m grateful to God for. I’m going to mention some of the seemingly mundane things that I am grateful for:

• I am grateful for Petrichor. (Petrichor is the distinctive, earthy, pleasant scent that is associated with rainfall especially when following a warm, dry period. It’s the crispy and fresh smell that permeates the environment after a rainfall).
• I am grateful for rain [Yeah, I know that it strongly relates to number 1]. I love how the air smells of rain when the clouds gather. I love the chills that seep into the swirling breeze. I love the drumming of the rain on the corrugated sheets; regardless of whether it pounds angrily or showers lightly. I am always grateful for the rain, regardless of whether I’m hustling through the streets of Ibadan to get home, or I’m snug in bed with a novel and warm tea.
• I am grateful for love. I believe love is all there is to life. I am grateful for the privilege to be able to love and to know what it feels like to be loved. Is it the agape love of God to man? Or is it the familial love between a close-knit family like mine? Perhaps it’s eros – the romantic love between one person and the other?
• I am grateful for sleep! Every day, I am grateful to be among the people who don’t struggle to fall asleep. I never have a hard time falling asleep. Once I set my mind to sleep [or not], it’s lights out. I do not take that for granted.
• I am grateful for books. I started reading as soon as I was able to comprehend strings of words. The first novel I read was Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. I love books in all forms – softcopies, hard copies and audiobooks. Just like I love petrichor, I love the musty smell of the brown leaves of old thrift paperback novels.
• I am grateful for K-drama. K-drama is the next best thing after Nigerian Jollof rice. The first K-drama I watched was the legendary Boys over flowers which became popular in Nigeria when I was in my 4th year in secondary school. I remember binge-watching it through the night till 5 am on a weekday. I bought it with my pocket money the day before after hearing my classmates gushing over it. I remember my eyes watering as I dozed off on the assembly line as an aftermath of a sleepless night.
• I am grateful for food. Food is an integral part of life. My favourite food is pasta in all its variants. One of my life goals is to visit different countries to enjoy their culture which includes their food. For a long while now, I’ve been talking about my decision to start intermittent fasting and portion control, but how can I manage it when food is my vice?
• I’m grateful for sunsets. Sunsets are ethereal. Writing about it currently makes my heart feel very warm. It’s a privilege to witness such a beautiful thing whenever you can. I can remember how my former one-room apartment gave me a perfect view of the sunrise and sunset. Maybe that’s what makes me always long to be back in that room, although its condition and that of the shared facilities in the house were pitiful. Here in my current apartment, I do not see the sunset. And this is a reminder that a perfect view of the sunset should be one of my criteria for renting my next apartment.
• I’m grateful for water. On some days, I really think I’m a “màmi wata” – a term used to describe water spirits [God forbid!]. This is because of how much I love a body of water. It always terrifies me and beckons me at the same time. I honestly think I want a house by a quiet part of a beach where the sun dips behind the water every evening. That is my dream home.

And that is a random list of the things I’m grateful for. I’ve been writing for about an hour. And I think this is enough for today. Let’s meet again tomorrow.

If you think I did well, and if you love any of the above, please clap for me.

Thank you.