A celebration is something everyone should have experienced. If you have not, then it's coming very soon.
I'm one for celebrations whether big or small and thankfully I have always had something worth celebrating, be it not burning down my house with my amazing cooking skills or opening my eyes every morning to another beautiful day.
There's always something.
I'm going to be telling a story of the biggest celebration I've ever experienced.
I talk about my brother a lot. As a person, I don't think I'd have a story to tell without him in it and I'm referring to my big brother in this context.
February, 14 2009
I woke up with so much excitement buzzing through my system. It was finally here.
Present day
My brother was born on the 9th of February. He says I always copy him but I can't exactly get it right like him so it wasn't a surprise that I was born on the 8th of January. A day a month behind him.
I still couldn't get it right from my mother's tummy.
Anyway, it was decided by my ever so loving parents that we would have a very big celebration to celebrate our birthdays. Normally the birthday that comes before would be celebrated with the one ahead but my parents thought it wouldn't be fair because one person would own the special day.
So it was decided, our birthdays would be celebrated on Valentine's day, the 14th of February.
February 14, 2009
It wasn't my birthday, yet everyone I passed wished me Happy Birthday. I loved days like this, when my house would be a camping ground for everyone. I could hear so much laughter coming from the kitchen where my mother was with her friends cooking her famous party jollof rice.
Knowing she would tell me to go and bathe and brush my teeth first, I avoided the kitchen and went outside instead where my father was directing people to set the canopies.
Chairs were arranged already, there were more than 200.
I didn't see my brother so I went to my Dad. Out of boredom I started sitting on the chairs one by one to count them, eventually I got tired.
I couldn't run for long because before I knew it, one of my Aunt's was sent by Mum to go and drag me to the bathroom.
The only reason I agreed was because afterwards, I got to wear my special cloth and my tiara. I even had a wand. I was going to be a princess.
Source
My friends had started to arrive, it was almost time for the celebration to begin.
Few hours later, I was sitting on a princess-like throne with all my subjects surrounding me on the plastic chairs 馃槀馃槀. Everything was perfect until I saw my brother's big head and then he sat on the other decorated chair. I wanted to be the only royal person, but I tolerated him for the sake of the four cakes in my front.
I wasn't being abusive when I said I saw his big head, he really did have a big large head when we were little.
The celebration had kicked off, there were party games, gifts, a lot of dancing, we even had people dressed up as the characters from Mickey Mouse. It's safe to say, it was fun.
The only downside was my wand wasn't really magical because it refused to turn my annoying classmate into a frog.
It was the biggest celebration I ever had and it was perfect. I ate so much that the toilet became my best friend over the next few days.
My parents really went all out and I couldn't be more thankful. The food lasted for days and I didn't stop eating or drinking. I was officially seven years old and my big brother was the big 1-0.
It was a day I'd never forget. Towards the end, my dad set up fireworks.
Everything was videotaped. I watched it over and over again. I saw myself moving from one chair to another, trying to count it.
Again, it was perfect.
Present day
I haven't really celebrated my birthday since then. It's funny how I went from a girl excited about her birthday to not even telling anyone that it's my birthday. The day just comes and goes.
Few years later my family moved from Lagos State to Akwa Ibom State and I guess the tape was lost in the process.
What I'd give to watch it again.
Now everything is different. I've had plenty more reasons to celebrate, much more celebrations but nothing as grand as that.
I think the best part of that day was that everyone came together because of it, friends and family and that's what made it perfect.
Because what's a celebration if you can't do it with the people you love.
