If I had written this post two months ago, my response to the prompt would have been about a family gathering where we cooked together, played games, and just enjoyed ourselves, or probably a brief outing, because fun to me has always been simple. I really do not believe in making noise or stressing myself in the name of fun.
Fun for me can be as simple as just watching a movie, like I did watching "Straw" last night with my wife, and despite doing this often, every time we sit in front of the screen together feels special. It can be just taking an evening walk in nature. I actually find these activities really fun and satisfying.
But last month was different because I had a whole special kind of fun due to a special event that took place in my life. This event wasn’t fun from the beginning; it was accompanied with so much fear and tears.
It started with a regular morning for couples expecting a baby, to facing the biggest task in the journey. Everything happened in the blink of an eye. I thought I was mentally prepared for everything but at a point, I didn’t have the strength to carry on.
It was the very first time seeing my wife in that much pain, and not being able to do anything to relieve it broke my heart. I watched her climbing up and down the stairs despite the pain, and I honestly couldn’t bear it. I kept asking the nurses when all of this would stop. I persuaded them to give her some space to rest, but there was no chance for that.
The whole thing lasted about three hours and in the end, the scariest experience of my life birthed one of the happiest days of my life. I stood there thinking of why women go through that lot, and it bothered me more why some men still treat their women badly after all of that.
I was finally able to shake things off and had the best laugh as I held the hands of my wife and baby. Congratulations started coming in, and the nurses teased me for being dramatic even more than my wife. They just couldn’t tell how I really felt.
The fun started right from the hospital because I couldn’t contain the joy I felt anymore. I sang and danced for minutes without drums, carrying the newborn in my arms.
I left the hospital earlier to start making preparations for a little merriment at home because some of our family had arrived immediately after they got the news. I got some catfish to make pepper soup and a few drinks to wash down the hot spices in the soup.
Later that day, we all arrived home with my wife since we had been cleared to do so. Upon getting home, I turned on my sound system, played some thanksgiving songs, and I didn’t stop dancing, even though I was terrible at it.
My wife, who got really emotional listening to those songs, joined me dancing. We just held hands dancing for a short time due to her body but that moment was huge. My mom wasn’t left out of the dance; she was happy, and we all saw it.
We had some of our family stay the night at our place, and my siblings weren’t left out. We were up all through the night chatting and gisting about the whole experience. They were part of the journey and didn’t stop mimicking my wife’s habits during the pregnancy period.
We watched movies and slept together at dawn like the old days in the living room because the bedrooms were occupied already. The fun continued the next morning, and till this minute, I feel a spark of joy causing me to dance when I am carrying my little boy.
I know this is not fun as usual for many people, but it is to me. The experience is definitely going to be an unforgettable one, something worth reflecting on in the future.