Sincerely wrong

We.have come to that season of the year when there is a lot of excitement, love and exchange of gifts. Compared to other holidays, this is one that most people cast out all restrain as they seek to enjoy themselves with the much readily available food.

I can still remember as a child on Christmas day I would go visiting in several places and after sometime, stop to count the proceeds of my visitation.😜

Christmas day meant eating jollof rice  and chicken and there was no rice like Christmas rice, hence it is called by the customizer name “Christmas rice “. As for the chicken, it was one thing I especially looked forward to and looking back today, I recollect a particular incident with one of our Christmas chickens☺️

So once upon a time, in the era before the sale of frozen chicken/turkey, people usually bought live chickens and  watch them grow  to be very big for Christmas.

Interesting, myself and my two brothers always had to share the 2 legs and head of the chicken whenever one was killed in our household  🤔(at least that meant my elder brother could just choose one item rather than all those his measuring 🙄(if you know, you know 😁)

So this particular day, my mother had bought the chicken already.

Now I am not sure whether it was my first exposure to a chicken that was not white but this hen, chicken or fowl(not sure but it looked like the one in that story of “The little Red hen & the grains of whearn”) was different. It was light  dusty brown in colour.

Somehow something told me that the chicken had walked around the neighbourhood so much and its white feathers had become dusty brown

I had to take action.

Without consulting anyone. I took the chicken downstairs (we lived on the first floor of a 2 storey building).

“Grace, what are you doing?”

I heard the voice of our neighbour who lived on the ground floor amidst the background noise while  the tap  was running.

The chicken was screaming for help as cold  water from the tap rained on it mercilessly.

“I am cleaning the chicken ma. She is dirty so I want to bathe it , ‘I replied

” Turn off that tap. Nobody bathes chickens, do you want to kill it? ‘ my aunty neighbour replied.

“No ma”

I quickly turned off the tap.

I definitely did not want to kill the chicken because that would land me in serious trouble and would mean no chicken for my brothers and I.

I took the shivering chicken back upstairs.

Luckily she survived….

I meant to do good.

I was sincere…

But my actions were wrong.

I was sincerely wrong but that would still not have stopped the consequences.

Sometimes being sincere is not enough.

Sometimes judging people by their actions alone may cause us to miss out on their good intentions.

Perhaps this season, a friend who you always shared Christmas as with might decide to do it on her own and decline your invitation to come over. It might be she ‘s being cautious and rather than become offended, you  could video chat with her on Christmas day

The Pandemic has taught us how to do so many things differently and we have adapted quite well in our work places but  compared to our relationships, we seem to be stalling to make some necessary changes.

My intentions were good but my  choice of actions were limited by my knowledge which was insufficient.

Perhaps in this season, we would help our relationships by looking beyond the actions/inactions of others, remembering that perhaps like little Grace, washing the chicken, some people might just be sincerely wrong.

Have a Merry Christmas in advance.

With love from Dishusbandmata team.