What about “when tomorrow comes”?

To borrow the title of a movie I once enjoyed as a teenager, my mind meandered through what the next item on this blog would be. As my thoughts rummaged, it occurred to me that I need to widen my horizon and gaze beyond my euphoric-utopian mind and look at reality.

There are lots of things to tell but here is one for the moment… “The uncertainty of  tomorrow.”

One of the things that always bewildered my thoughts is the mystery of the morrow, how to develop the ability to just glance into it. To travel in one’s mind, to explore, discover, find out, have an adventure, is no small feat to achieve. It is however the thing which has come to be the landmark that trails my thoughts.  If I hadn't travelled in my mind, then some experiences wouldn't have been birthed, some dreams would not have been nurtured, some milestones would not have been reached.

The sharpest memories have a mileage that measures from lots of time in my primary school days. Being the daughter of Nigerian Civil Servants, for whom transfers from one place to another were a very common feature of their work, my dad and mum moved around a lot. We had to move at least 3(three) times between two areas. As a result of which my early days were nurtured in the Southern parts of the Plateau, in North Central Nigeria.

We lived in the Staff quarters, same place where the nursery/primary school was situated and I suppose it still is. (Probably called pre-school and grade school in some other climes).  This is the place where I spent most of my growing time, I still remember walking home from school with my friends and neighbours and never really wondered or questioned why I had to walk, because after all mum and dad had cars. It was fun to walk. In fact, one often prayed that mum would not be on her way home from work to offer you a lift. That just took the fun out of the walk-home-saga. Mum was a nurse you see, and nurses ran shifts…nurses still run shifts; morning, afternoon, night.

On the days when there was a play to act on the way home, we all had our parts [and you didn’t want to miss your part], and some fun game(s) to play, one didn’t pray for mum to be on her afternoon shift. Walking home was fun!!
We enjoyed in that instance what was the best part of an otherwise fun deprived day
And through those walks were fun times; when we would play all the way home knowing fully well we would get a scolding and perhaps even a beating for getting home late from school.

Walking home had some scary times; when the bullies from school would way-lay and threaten to beat us and or even actually beat us. Several times we had to hide or perch at a friend’s house or just run home really fast, so they wouldn't catch us. Such were the times that I began my venture into fantasy land. I would journey into the world of my books where the good guy always came out victorious. In addition to the books were some Hollywood Movies and the conscious exaggeration they were never short of.

As I peer through the pages of the past, those books particularly kept me safe, and assured me that it was okay to be scared, to dream; The books had stories wrapped with Western themes, themes of happily ever afters, dreams coming true, reward for hard work done;
They reassured me  that the grass on the other side was definitely much greener on the morrow side; Funny how even as a child the “other side” always seemed much greener.

And so I drew it and in my minds eyes, that tomorrow existed outside the shores of Nigeria. It was the place with all the comfort and trappings of serenity I would live the luxurious, awesome life I had always seen doctored to me from my story book characters and the actors and actresses. (trust me The Sound of Music was very instrumental here)

And then it came the tomorrow that I wished, dreamt and prayed for; and try all I could my place of abode remained the place in my past where the dreams of today were birthed.
Interestingly while it appeared to be the worst place, it turned out to be the place of refinement, polishing, tidying, the place where my muscles developed their strength. Perhaps I should be telling more glittery stories right now, or more stories of serenity, calm, peace, and my dreams coming to true, turn by turn, plan by plan, step by step. “The exposure and experience gained in the course of my journeys will definitely not be taken away,” I would think to myself. The tomorrow came and my reality only deepened, in the sense that I see the next morrow in a different light…

Tough, rough and tumble, and tough again, 

but am stronger now;
Strong enough to look with the eyes 

of faith, hope, expectancy, with belief;

Tough enough to dream through the deepest trenches

of a desperately corrupt system;

Tumbled enough to fight through the rot 

Then come out soaked and beaten, but not kept down.
Real enough to see that the days to come will usher true change;
For me and the ones yet to come.
Thus is the morrow that we are striving for;

The tomorrow I once dreamt of, 

the one on the other side which is greener,

That green side is moving here, 

it is slow, almost at a standstill, seems it’s about to give up, 

but its moving, and I am a dreamer!

Come what may it, shall come to pass!!