My earliest childhood memories.

 Everyone had a childhood they love and wish they could go back in time and relive those moments, and sadly, some had a childhood they're working so hard to not let their unborn children experience when they get here.

My childhood was typically special. It wasn't one filled with all the fine things of life, and no, I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth. It was characterized by fun and innocence. My parents didn't have everything but they tried their best to make my siblings and I comfortable.

I randomly remember playing in the rain with my mates and getting all soaked up and dirty. I'd return from school and dash under the tree in my compound to pick ripe "ebelebo" fruits that had fallen from the tree before heading into my house to meet my mum.

My school, Awesome Academy, took us on an excursion to Muritala Muhammed Airport one time. My older brother and I went and it was quite an exciting experience. We were taken into an abandoned plane which had substances like ashes and paper all over and we were told that planes use kerosene to function. We took a picture too. I saw the picture last year or thereabout and I got a feeling of nostalgia. I tried to get the picture to attach to this blog post but unfortunately, i couldn't find it. Seeing myself in that short school gown, dirty white socks and a pair of dusty, brown sandals, standing beside my older brother, with him smiling and me giving off a straight face that I obviously grew up with gave me a feeling of euphoria.

Your parents aren't really Nigerian if they never warned you not to take things from strangers or to not eat food from outsiders. Well, we were given Puff puff upon returning from the excursion, but my brother and I being the "obedient" children that we were threw ours away in a bush on our way back home. When we got home, my mum looked so elated and we told her about the excursion and about the Puff puff and she said "you shouldn't have thrown it away,we paid for it na. But it's okay."

At some point in primary school, my mum stopped buying lunch boxes for me because I was in the habit of always misplacing it on my way back from school. I was such a careless child. So, she resolved to serving my lunch in a plastic plate and I'd carry it to school in a polythene bag.

I won't forget how I used to get pissed off when our neighbour's children never allowed me cook whenever we did our cooking "experiment". In that compound, on some days, we(the children) would cook food in old metal plates over a stove outside our houses. Our neighbour's mum used to sell cooking items like tomato puree, pepper and the likes. So, they would get tomato, pepper, oil and other necessary ingredients from their mum and my mum would give us some rice from our house as my contribution. I'd watch them cook and refuse to eat when the food is ready because I wasn't allowed to take part in the cooking process.

While growing up, I used to be a chronic introvert. I seldom came out to play with my mates and I was always indoors reading. I remember my mum coming to collect my book from me and dragging me out to play with my mates. What was a small child like me trying to gain from reading all day without any recreational activity? Gradually, I became balanced and normal.

My most exciting childhood memory was Christmas eve. I almost never slept on the day before Christmas because my mind was always hovering over how I'd look in my new Christmas dress, shiny shoes and flowery socks. Anytime my dad failed to get me socks, I'd be really sad, but eventually, he'd get it for me

My parents weren't the richest, but I saw that they did their best to make us feel comfortable. They deserve the whole world and more.

I wish I could go back in time and relive those moments because they were void of worries. All I had to worry about was waiting with my mum and siblings for my dad to return from work at night. I wasn't worried about the future; I didn't even know there was something called a future. I miss those times we lived life as it came, and not looking forward to what the next day holds. The true peace and happiness that comes with childhood is second to none.