It's the small things

It’s the small things

The look in his eyes as he wrapped his arms around my waist this morning, the way he whispered into my ears without a forethought, “I love you and I want you to know that I cherish every moment with you.” It means more because I know he means it and I feel the same way.

We’ve been through rough patches these past years, fifteen to be precise. We were married for a decade before we had our first child. It was hard but we stuck together and stuck it out.

In the fifth and sixth years of our marriage we hit rock bottom financially. Many days and nights we had not as much as a morsel to eat, we still held on to each other and joked that we were lucky we did not have children.

The ‘concerned’ family came with their numerous alternatives, even raised money to get ‘us’ a new wife. He never paid them a notice. The girl’s family returned a part of the bride price after eighteen months, annulling the marriage. She’s married now, with three sons.

When I found out his dirty little gambling secret, it was easy for me to be easy with him even though we were already neck deep in debt. I helped him overcome the weakness. He found the strength to conquer and make a difference in his life, in our lives.

When he found out I was pregnant, he cuddled and coddled me till I realised I was pregnant two months later, he continued till the day our first child made her screaming entrance into this world.

That toothless grin, that scalp massage after a tiring day, that cuddle that lasts the whole night, that patter of tiny feet running towards you for a hug, the chaos of baby and daddy things strewn about, miraculously so in less than a minute, the endless peals of laughter. It’s these things that make the world a lovely place.

The warmth that spreads across my heart as I gaze into his eyes whispers a very loud message. It’s the faint heartbeat, it’s the unspoken, it’s the intangible, and it’s the often ignored. It’s the little things.

It’s the small things.

Ojonugwa Sapphire Abu