I welcome you to my blog. We all have those relatives who only enjoy calling you out, in most cases for the right reasons and in some cases for the wrong reason, but along the line, they tend to overdo it, and it becomes really annoying. No one loves to be called out, no one loves being yelled at, and no one loves to be the center of attention. Sometimes getting called out can be embarrassing and leave you with very bad memories that either make you sad or angry whenever you remember.
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The funny thing about getting called out in an African home is that you don't have the right to say or do anything until the elders are done talking. Even if the reason you are being called out might be false, you are still expected to keep quiet and let them talk. In an African home, sometimes you get the right to speak when called out, and sometimes you don't. The elders just do the talking and the advising, and after that case is closed, there is no room for you to even clear your name if the reason you are being called out is true or false. Sometimes it is annoying, and you get to live with the stigma all your life.
In 2022, I traveled to the village for a Christmas celebration, and it was fun as I got to meet a lot of my family members. Many I have not met in years, and many I have not even met before, and even those I never knew existed, but the fun part is that we bonded like we have all known each other for years and have been living together; we did things together and went places together. My family being a Christian family, there are many things we were not allowed to do and many places in the village we were not allowed to step foot in, so in order to avoid getting called out, we tried as much as possible to avoid those things and those places.
Getting called out at that moment was not a good idea because we had so many elders around; about nine of my uncles and six aunties were around alongside others. If you get called out with all these people around and with their different takes, I doubt one can get over the trauma, so everyone behaved themselves.
My mom does not support the consumption of alcohol, though we do it, but we do it secretly and try to avoid going anywhere near a shop or place where it is being sold in order to avoid raising any suspicion. One fateful Wednesday evening, cousins decided we all contributed money to get pepper soup so we could just enjoy the evening. The only place to get it was at a beer parlor, and we had relatives everywhere, so going there meant she will definitely hear it, but we decided to take the risk. I was in support of taking the risk until all fingers pointed at me and said that I should be the one that goes to the beer parlor to buy it.
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I got there, and the guy said it needed heating and I should sit and wait. I was only waiting; I did not even order a drink to keep myself busy while waiting to be on the safer side, but that did not stop me from getting called out. The following morning, after devotion, I was asked to stay back while the other children were dismissed, and that's when I knew I was trouble. It was quarrels and telling from every angle of the room, even adding that they saw me drinking. I had to take it all because the moment you try to speak, you are labeled a disrespectful child. To date, the drama of that morning still plays in my head, and it spoils my mood whenever I remember.
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