Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: WAIT (05/21/20)
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TITLE: Her Hideout | Previous Challenge Entry
By Chiazo Obiudu
05/28/20 -
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"Daddy, daddy," he called as he wandered around the house.
"Where could she have gone?" he must have wondered.
But she, that's me, was chilling in her new hideout. Though I am his mummy, for some reasons he's yet to explain, he calls me daddy too.
I've always found it cute, the way he calls me "daddy". But that day, both he and his cuteness had to wait. Because I had been waiting for that moment for long, just a few minutes to be alone.
Based partly on inspiration from a certain nice movie, I had created a hideout, a (wo)man cave if you may. And a real cave it is. Narrow, dark, a little mysterious. The main source of the mystery comes from the bags tucked away in a corner of my roughly one-square meter closet. I believe the bags belong to my husband, but though I cleaned out the rest of the closet, I kept a safe distance from the suspicious sacs.
Once cleaned, I shifted my clothes hanging down from the single metal rail to one side, then proceeded to (tastefully?) furnish the remaining half of the closet. An old brown rug, a worn brown and white leather throw cushion and an improvised mini bench.
I decided to add a pop of color to the whole ensemble by throwing a bright red piece of velvet (I had cut off from something else) over the mini bench, which was essentially a part of an old wooden door I set on two of my husband's dumb bells (from back when he cared about building bulging biceps). Some of my books piled on top of the salvaged wood added some height to the bench, then came the red velvet stuff over the books.
A small broken box held my Bibles, hymn book and pen. An old almanac, plain side facing out, hung on the wall low enough for me to scribble bible verses and other inspirations. To finish the job, I hung, on the same nail holding the almanac, a little plastic cross to remind me that Christ's Cross created the way to the Father. And then, it was finished.
I was so proud of my work. Though the pictures of my cave would not be hitting any of my social media pages in its current state, I am still proud and so in love with it. Sometimes, I would crack the door of my closet open a little bit just to take a peep at the glorious 'coziness'.
Unfortunately, that first day I got to enjoy my cave alone was the last day. My little boy eventually found me, or at least, I let him find me, and my cover was blown. Now my hideout is no longer so hidden. My kids know that once mum isn't within sight or earshot, mum must be hiding. And because it's so dark in there, I usually leave the door open. So my quiet time is now an all-comers affair.
But I still manage to get a few minutes here and there, in there. I do need that time, that space. Spending every waking moment, and some sleeping ones too, with the little ones have started taking a toll on me. I've always considered myself a somewhat patient person, but my reserve of that all important virtue is fast depleting.
Added to the uncertainties of the time, the fears and anxieties, it's clear I need to hide once in a while. But sometimes, though my hideout very briefly shields me from the noise and chaos my house has become, most of the time, it doesn't shield me from the chaos in my mind.
I still find myself often asking, "when… how much longer…?"
But I am learning to wait, wait on God to bring the help we all need globally, and the help I need as an individual, the grace to make it through one day at a time. But while I wait, I will try to find some humor and comfort in little things, like my cozy little hideout.
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