Image Source: Valenbutec, Accessed 13/05/2017 Me: So, do you have any words of wisdom for me? I say this as an obvious joke. My obvious joke sails over his curly head. P-boo: I think you need to get a life. Aunty Efua says Fridays are for going out. Mummy and daddy have gone out, but you’re sitting here talking to me. Me: Buddy, your parents begged me to baby-sit so I’m doing you and them a favour. In fact I’m taking you to bed. Next time they can force Efua to take care of you. Nonsense. P-boo: Aunty Efua is sad now. It makes me sad. She was crying yesterday because that man that fixes our lights was angry with […]

Image Source: Valenbutac, Accessed 13/05/2017 P-boo: What else should I know to prepare me for the world? Me: Your parents are building a good foundation for you to understand and have respect for females. You need to develop that foundation. Women have come a long way in the last six decades, but we still deal with many issues that you may not notice because they are not part of your daily struggle. We have to be careful where we walk at night and even when you say “No” politely to a man who wants to take you for a walk, he may call you an ugly name for saying “No.” There are even more terrible things that you will find […]

Image Source: Valenbutec, Accessed 13/05/2017 “You have to see things from my perspective. You wail and cry really loudly. It’s frustrating and uncomfortable for me.” It’s Friday night. I should have been out enjoying the social scene somewhere, but my boring self had been home alone with a bottle of wine and a documentary about post-colonial Africa. I had foolishly said as much to my friend when she called and casually asked what I was doing. That was a big mistake. She had a favour to ask. She and her husband had been dying for a night out. Their two older children were at sleepovers, the live-in help had had to pay an emergency visit to her sick mother, and […]