Dew Drops

DEW DROPS (written march 2006)
Recently, I was delivered of a beautiful baby girl. Her “coming” kept everybody around me tensed as she was quite overdue. Eventually, naming her became an issue. I and my husband came up with various names. Somehow none seemed suitable. Friends and family found the drama funny-today this names-tomorrow that. ‘But you should have had a name for your baby –having carried her for nine months’-was the constant reprieve I got. Well- we finally agreed on a name for her-kaosisochukwu-meaning-as it has pleased God.

I am sure you will be wondering at the prelude. I was just preparing your mind to peruse over this simple but very important question-what is in a name? Here in Nigeria, especially among the Yoruba’s, naming is a big deal. The eight day after delivery is set aside for the official naming ceremony. There is even a biblical foundation to this practice. A child’s name is believed to affect his/her destiny. In fact the bible has this record of Jabez whose life took a turn for the better after his name was changed. I also have a friend named Patience who had to change her name to Favour because she could neither get a job nor get married. And surprisingly after the change of name, she did get the favour of a job!

I chose to name this column DEW DROPS –I wonder if it’s appropriate at all. I don’t know exactly what impression it creates in your mind. Does it prepare your mind for the kind of things I have in my mind? Nevertheless, I am using it as an icon to represent and identify this corner where I will be doing a lot of mind baring with you on issues very close to our hearts. It is normal to hear people use the expression-‘sleep over the matter’. You will agree with me that most times, after sleeping over issues, fresh and wonderful ideas come up. It comes like carefully distilled water, enabling us to get the essential ideas from our thoughts or experience. That is what I have chosen to represent as –dew drops.

So-you are welcome to share with me in this column every month and I do hope the muse will keep me inspired with the gentle drops of dew as we go on in this voyage.