Love is in the air...

To all our members:

You know Valentine's day is around the corner when you start seeing 'red hearts' and 'love' signs in the grocery stores in January and your email inbox is full of suggestions of what to get your loved ones for Valentine's...

February is an expensive month around here where I'm at -  my birthday follows valentines by 3 days and some people just spend the month grumbling around the house, I dont know why...I'm just saying. I have not asked for anything - yet.

Have you been buying candy for the kids' classmates for school this week?
Thinking of what Chocolate brand to buy for the love of your life
 (hint, hint: 'Godiva' never fails)?
Have you made the trip to Hallmark, the card store yet?
Got the "bling, bling" all lined up for Feb 14th?

I won't go into the history of the good ol' saint and why it is celebrated, but whether you celebrate this now heavily commercialized holiday or not, you can't escape it in this society.

 Culturally, this is an alien celebration for us Africans, declaring our love like this... but this is where we live now. Yoruba lo ni "ibi ti aiye ba ti ba eeyan, la ti nje"

We are going to get "some love" especially of the card, chocolate and candy variety, from all angles and from our children, from their school and co-workers etc all professing their love in various ways. Me? I say 'thank you' to them and take most of it with a pinch of salt.
Color me jaded...

One thing is for sure though - the care and affection that our association members are showing for each other. Ko ni tan nbe o. Ko ni su wa, ko si ni re wa o. Ajose wa o ni d'aru o. Amin.

Now accepting my Valentines....and for my wish list:

Good health
Long life
and prosperity

ahhh, who am I kidding??

A box of "bling" all tied up in ribbon,
2 dozen red roses,
Godiva chocolate, (liquid filled centers, variety kind)
Dinner and a movie to round out the day. 
Not asking for too much am I?

Go easy on the candy and chocolate...

Wishing you a very happy St Valentine's day & week ahead!

*"The greatest lesson I can share with aspiring writers is to "just sit down and write",  it will all come together in the end" - Prof. Wole Soyinka. 

And so, I write...

Funke Abolade, M.D

Secretary of Fun and Faaji.