A Week of the Past

Episode Seven: Sunday.

7:00 A.M.: This is usually the time i wake up most Sundays. Aside going to church and doing laundry, Sunday was the only day i do take a rest from all the stress accumulated and gathered during business days.

I am a proud Catholic, so i attend mass every Sunday, and i mostly attend the ten o'clock mass. Sometimes i did some washing of cloths and cleaning before going for mass by ten; i enjoyed going for the ten o'clock mass, it was just my favourite mass.

In addition to my waking up, playing some music helps to shape my morning, from the collections of Don Williams, Celin Dion, and the likes of them.

10:00 A.M.: I always have a special position in my church, and if i don't arrive as early as possible or before ten o'clock, i will be left with no option but to be or sit in an unwanted position. So i go to church early.

I don't fancy cloths or style of dressing that much, i put on anything i have as regards to normal dressing. Simply put, i don't show off.

The duration of the mass lasts from two to three hours. This period calls for total attention to the homilies and preaching which the priest disseminate to the congregation, and also total participation of all church activities.

12:00 Noon: This period sees the end of the mass and ushers in a kind of special hunger and thirsty moment. Buying bottles or sachets of pure water; and sometimes ice cream often serves as a quench to thirstiness, while we patiently go home to settle the case of hunger. You know the saying that water is life, and life before anything else.

News paper arena was usually my first branch after mass and before going home. I enjoyed purchasing the Catholic news papers and reading latest news and information about the church and the world in general which is an encyclopedia of the news paper.

On few occasions, i patronize the market on Sundays to complete the purchase of food stuffs and other items i was unable to purchase on Saturday.

2:00 P.M.: This is one of the most busiest rather the busiest moment of every Sunday, with activities and various engagements here and there.

If you don't see me doing my laundry, then you will definitely see me in the kitchen or performing one compound duty or the other.

I consider social media as an amazing tool, though it's a non-face to face interaction that those not make a long-term impact. I often do spend some couple of hours online, on social networking sites, and i do feel some sense of connection with people i do engage and chat with around the world.

I don't fancy posting my pictures a lot and regularly, like some people often do, rather i prefer reading up posts, articles, comments and chatting with few friends, and also posting my little articles too. I always get bored when ever i engage in a chat with a new friend or an unknown person. Sometimes i was the bore.

Afternoon meals on few occasions do come on late afternoons with hastiness in devouring and consuming it, like greedy and ravenous as a Lion eager for pray or gratification.

4:30 P.M.: There is what we call 'mkpaghari' and 'ipu obodo' in my language, and they both mean to go out on visitations or for site seeing and they contribute to relaxation.

Sunday visitation is a cultural trait of the Igbo people; which am so proud to be among. Visiting my parents is and was a must, every Sunday, because i get to spend quality time with them, listen to parental advise, and also having a fun moment with my siblings.

I also do carryout my visitations to other of my family relatives, friends, business partners, line customers, and even some distant customers.

People i do visit often pay me back with their own visits, and i made sure their visits was entertained and remarkable.

Actually, the normal pattern of Sunday visitations is to put through call the person or family one intends visiting, to make sure that they are around in other to make ones visit not to be a waste of time, energy and resources. No one loves a wasted effort.

7:50 P.M.: Monday is always a busy day because it begins business activities for the week. Before then, i had to prepare for it by making few calls with some of my customers, to remind them on patronizing my shop the next day and also on availability of new products with change of prices of old and new materials.

I called Oga Daniel, he was often my Monday customer, because he only supply materials at the company he works on every Monday.

We exchanged greetings in our normal ritual and we discussed about business as usual. I took notes of materials he needed the next day and the figure was high.

Oga Daniel is married to his lovely wife, and they have three beautiful kids; a boy and two girl. He is a gentle and honest man, and that is obviously the reason i respect and regard him with much honor.

9:00 P.M.: Dinner mostly comes at this hour, after the long day visits and evening calls. We usually had same food as lunch which is rice-beans and stew.

On this note, i come to the end of 'a week of the past', and if you have read up to this moment, i believe you enjoyed every bit of it.

Thanks for keeping up.

I am OAJ.