New year was just another Monday but with distinct exceptions

I hadn't wished to shut the doors and windows, sneak underneath the covers, and close my eyes in tireless slumber the way I wished it on that day. Every other person was busy taking phone calls excitedly or joining in the seemingly endless bustle of the kitchen. We had spent the last day of 2023 in the most tiresome way; From doing a general cleanup of the house to going out for window shopping and a city tour, then heading over to church for the cross-over service.

source
By the time we arrived back home, I was exhausted to my bones. It didn't end there. I had to sit in the kitchen when we returned from the service, pounding small bells of red and yellow pepper, and wiping salty liquid from my eyes due to slicing so many balls of onions. By the time we were done, my feet felt numb.

I don't know where everyone else got the energy to sit back and see a movie, but I headed to my room and slept in until I was woken up four hours later.

I was called to enjoy the first delicacy of the day. My mother had taken her time to marinate and fry the chicken well in vegetable oil. After which she dipped it into a spicy sauce and left it all through the early morning.

As soon as I sunk my teeth into it, I appreciated the cartons of chilled fruit juice going around. I could feel sweat burst from the pores on my forehead as my mouth burned from the unexpected harshness of the spicy chicken.

It seemed it was affecting everyone else too because my brother suddenly said, “Mummy, it's like you put this pepper with all your heart o” causing us to burst into laughter which brightened me up.

A game of Monopoly was brought immediately after the chicken feast. At this time, I could feel a slight bang in my head. It was like there was a judge up there who had not made his mind up about an important case and was hitting the gavel in deep thought.

I still gave a smile when something funny was said, careful not to laugh hard and infuriate the judge before he banged my head open.

By noon, I felt a little relieved when we were all asked to go shower so we could feast on the main meal that we had spent all night preparing.

Then it was time to play another game of cards after the meal. I pleaded to excuse myself at this point because I couldn't take it any longer. That judge was becoming fiery.

It felt so good to crawl back into bed and drift off again in slumber, but I was soon woken up to incessant tapping on my arm. It was my niece.

“Aunty Treasure, Jaden has messed himself up” she announced. I almost shed a tear, why was I the best person to attend to her brother? Where was her mom?

I dragged myself up reluctantly to get him cleaned up. I knew it would be impossible to sleep back so I trudged over to the living room to see what the rest of my family were up to. To my surprise, they were still playing the card game. It had been an hour since I left them for that quick nap.

When my brother-in-law had won enough rounds of the card game, he suggested that we see a movie. We unanimously agreed, delight crawling its way up my cheeks to drag a smile across my face.

“Let's see Funke Akindele’s ‘A tribe called Judah', what do you guys think?” My older brother asked when we had gone through Netflix and wasn't impressed with their suggestions, especially because of the children.

“I think we should see something family-related since we're gathered together as a family. Something that highlights family values and standards.” Everyone turned to my mom as she spoke.

“Mummy, do you have a movie in mind?” my older sister's brow furrowed in question.

“Not really. There's a movie though, it's not exactly the regular family we're used to, but they were a family alright.”

My siblings and I exchanged glances when we searched for the movie she was talking about.

“It's a 1992 movie” my older sister whispered.

“Let's give it an attempt. We're removing it immediately after the first scene” my older brother suggested. It was titled ‘Sister Act’.

We didn't know how, but we didn't only see that movie to the end, we saw the second part too.

At the end of the day, it was just another Monday like I had thought it would be, but with distinct exceptions; plenty of food and drinks, and that movie; it made my day.