#007. end of year savings
Most times when we thank God, it is over material things. We hardly thank Him for the ability to navigate our fingers on the keyboard . . .
Every time we make it to the end of a year, we are always eager to count our blessings. Almost always, the material acquisitions.
For some, it is the number of books they've read.
Some completed a degree, and some relocated.
For others, it is how much they were able to save.
And some had their first car, or bought/built their own house.
The list is endless . . .
Those who are unable to account for any of the above often feel they had an unfulfilling year. Forgetting that the ability to pay their house rent is an achievement. Many are now homeless.
Paying your bills, or your child's school fees is a blessing.
Beyond these, the gift of life is unquantifiable.
That breath you are taking in and out, someone is in the ICU paying for it. I pointed this out in a haibun from my chapbook "Dust and Rust:”
That is why most year end, I share this senryu:
end of year savings
I managed to save
my life
—Taofeek Ayeyemi, Failed Haiku, Vol. 5, Issue 60, 2020)
We are not grateful enough. Most times when we thank God, it is over material things. We hardly thank him for the ability to navigate our fingers on the keyboard, or to see, walk, and talk.
We are barely grateful for our freedom. Visit the Correctional centers. Visit the mortuary. Visit the hospitals and see people thanking God they've not made it to the mortuary. See, whenever you count your blessings, count it to the blessings you can't buy with millions.
You saved more than your life
In mid-December when I read the "end of year savings" poem to my wife, she said, "you saved more than your life this year." And I remembered we haven't broken my piggy bank. So, we reached for the wardrobe and brought out two "kolo" wherein I've saved year-round.
I learned the art of saving from my mother. And while growing, no one saved more than me. I recreated this memory too in Dust & Rust:
So, I opened the lid of my bank and we were amazed at what was squeezed within.
We were more surprised after straightening and arranging them in twenty thousands. I have saved ₦300,500.00. Yes, three hundred thousand, five hundred naira.
I was saving the ₦1000 denomination. I can't recall how the ₦500 made its way in there 😁 So, I gave it to my wife, for her help 😉
What more did I do?
Books
I am not bookish. But I read resources every day. Essays upon essays, poems upon poems, sometimes books upon books, but not novels. However, I bought more books this year. About 35 books, of which 10 are novels. My wife is a reader, so she read and summarize to me 🙄
I also bought all the 2023 Nigerian Weekly Law Reports (NWLR).
That's about 53 reports, of ₦3,000 each. Isn't that a fortune?
Enjoyments
See, I can't be working hard and not do things that refresh my mind and brain. And I don't wait for holidays. I do at my whims. No be say money boku like that, so most times, I saved up for them.
I have gone to the cinema a number of times this year. And to wrap it off, my wife and I went to participate in a "Sip and Paint" exercise.
She painted the flower vase. I did the portrait of a boy whose head is covered in a piece of sheet. Although my contacts subbed me over what I painted, I am still proud of it. These hoodlums said wiffy painted better and were ready to pay if we auction her work.😁
The “sip and paint” easily passed as my favourite outing.
This is also enjoyment: we did night walk twice, with our phones away so we could chat.
Sacrifices/Impacts
•I was interviewed by Book O'clock's Mazeed Mukhtar, and we had a discussion around my books and arts generally.
•I finished up my chapbook "Some Stars Do Not Fall" SINCE 2020, and the book cover art is ready. It's gonna be PUBLISHED in print, come 2024. Bi idhniLah 🤲🏾
•We resumed Amrayn Ramadan Poetry Series.
•I did many courses, and learnt Business Plan writing from the best.
•I attended workshops: INKterlude and Business the Way Allah Wants It
•I moderated a Panel Session at TIMSAN Camp & Conference, 2023
•I was Chief Judge in an Oratory Contest at the same event
•I yielded the push to host Quillebration this year. It was virtual, and terrific.
Soul-lifting Lines
I shared some snippets from my poems and creative nonfiction on my social media pages.
Discoveries
Tigernut is only taking the glory of coconut. The milky taste we relish in that drink belongs to coconut. I tried making the Tigernut drink in October and didn't like the taste. Much tigernut. Little coconut, dabinu dates and ginger. I attempted it again this December, the coconut is of equal size with the tigernut, and more dates and same measurement of ginger. The taste was heavenly. Exactly of the brands I love to buy.
Dreams
The so-called new year resolution: a chain of wishes and goals; I plant them in the fertile palms of the Almighty. The world shall see them when they mature.
I thank God for health, for my union, for Àdìtu, for the people I met, for the ones I met but now know them more, for beneficial and rewarding efforts, for grace and luck, for opportunities to learn and do more . . .
Above all,
I want to be a good and "kind" son, husband, friend, brother, and human being.
I want to have all the resources that will enable me.
I want to make impact, make difference, make living.
I want to fly . . .
So help me, my Creator.
So help you too. But remember, whatever you were able to achieve or save, that your life is saved is the greatest of all.
Have a beautiful 2024.
Cheers to more . . .🥂
end of year savings
I managed to save
my life.
That was a lot. Happy new year Sir.
Thank you for reminding us of gratitude. There's no such thing as little blessings. We should be grateful for the things that seems small to us. Let's enjoy 2024 with more gratitude.