I remember we recently moved to a new location and located our local congregation, and I got close to the children and parents there. Naturally, I'm easily impressed by what children do because it's always intriguing most of the time. But then I came across this particular child who stole the show almost every single time, and even though I was young then, I wished and prayed I would give birth to a child as smart and thoughtful as him.
His name is Triumph (he has a native name, but it's hard for many to pronounce, so I'll stick with his English name). Triumph was just a baby when I met him. He has an immediate elder brother, whom I also admire greatly due to his intelligence and wisdom even at a young age. Their parents are one of the most lovely people anyone would want to associate with, and seeing that their children took so much after them made me fond of the whole family.
Triumph was never interested in letting anyone carry him when he was a baby, except for his mother. I kept trying to gain his favor for almost two years, but I wasn't consistent, so he could hardly get used to me. Well, I know a few things about children and how to get on their good side, and I tried quite a few of them on Triumph, but he was keen on not accepting me. At some point, I felt sad, which made me more interested in making him like me. Then, I was the one who made his mom's hair, which gave me more opportunities to see him, and it was through that process that we bonded more. He loved his mom so much, so he was always impressed by the hair I made for his mom.
There was this particular day when, immediately after I finished his mom's hair, he moved closer and gave a compliment to his mom that put a smile on my face and his mom's. It was how he praised his mom's beauty and my handiwork. He said, "Mummy, your hair is fine oo; this auntie knows how to make you look beautiful every time." Now, tell me you wouldn't love such a little one at that point, and to think he was so cute, just like his beautiful mom. He was always a thoughtful child with his words. As little as he was, he knew how to comfort his mother when she was not in a good mood.
From that day on, I noticed he started getting interested in coming close to me and asking questions about almost everything about me. We became really close, and at some point, whenever I went over to their place, he wouldn't want me to leave. There was a particular day his mom called me over to help her watch them as she was going to the market to get some things. When I got there, she told me there was no food at home and suggested that I could prepare something we could eat.
They had groceries and provisions at home, so all we needed was to decide what we could eat. I suggested to the boys that I prepare palm oil rice, but Triumph was a bit skeptical if he would like it, and I had to do a lot of convincing that he would love it. Finally, he decided to give me the benefit of the doubt and see if he would enjoy the food as I promised.
Well, he was my friend now, so he acted like one that day, which I found really impressive and admirable. While I was cooking, they both asked to help me out in the kitchen instead of watching cartoons. Triumph was even more interested in helping out because he wanted to see how I prepared my food. I remember him telling me things his mom would have done that I didn't do; hehe. At that point, I knew he had also been helping his mom out in the kitchen.
When I finally finished cooking, he was so eager to taste what I had prepared. At first, I was worried because I thought he might not like it, but I never gave him the impression that I was worried, and I served their food. Immediately his brother tasted the food, he said, "Wow!" and that made Triumph taste his food too, and he was impressed. I received so many compliments from both of them that day.
It didn't just end there; he even had to tell his parents how much he enjoyed the food I prepared. And that was just one thing I couldn't help but admire in him - he was very true and sincere with his compliments. Never expect him to say something he doesn't mean; it's never going to happen.
Despite the fact that we became friends, there were times when he still told me he didn't like some things I did. He was hard to please, but once he was pleased, he never hid it. And I was so attached to him because of how thoughtful he was, and to think he was just five years old then - it made me pray that I give birth to such a thoughtful
This is my response to the hivelearners topic on ”SHEER INTELLIGENCE”.