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I make magic with words > Writer @iwrite_iedit | Author | Music and food lover | Future rapper Read from me 👇🏾

$Wedding bells, white dresses, and your whole trousseau as reverberations of Halleluia rent the air. You’ve got yourself a man, a husband, a partner, a significant other, a honey bunny or whatever fancy name you’ve decided to call him. Hopefully, he’s all that and a bag of chips. And yes, you have bagged yourself the title of Wife, but that isn’t all. Unless he’s an orphan or only child, you have now acquired the additional titles of Daughter-in-Law and Sister-in-Law. Like Wyclef, let me clear my throat, “Aha-aha”, before I begin my narration of what life could be like on the In-Law Spectrum. These new statuses could either bring you more misery or greater joy depending on the nature of the other parties involved. Some new brides have been cast as the evil queen, divider of brothers, siblings and separatists (even when gaps as wide as the Grand Canyon already existed before their entry). Then there are the DILs whom the MILs see as competition. Pray thee tell, can a mother marry her own son? Then why the constant need to insert yourself as the primary female in his life? Honestly, the directive that a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife and the two shall become one, is widely and deliberately ignored. Rather, you find out that you are both being divided into as many fractions as possible. Heaven forbid that your husband dotes on you. He takes care of the children, buys all your favorite things and supports you to make your dreams true. You have bewitched him, probably with charms from some Baba that your friends introduced you to. They can’t even stand true love. But enough of the sad tales, let’s bless God for those who are welcomed into families where Sisters-in-law become sisters; where your opinions are welcomed and even sought. Even your husband becomes jealous and feels that you pay more attention to his family than him. Blessed are you o wife, whose MIL adopts her as her own daughter, and spoils her silly, and whose FIL thanks the heavens for the wisest decision his son made by marrying you. And if you didn’t get a good deal, then may grace, patience and wisdom always be your gist partners. #daughterinlaw by @syreetaakinyede$

I thought it would be a good idea to pen a goodbye note to August.

It will always be a month of mixed emotions.

August was the month my free-spirited younger sister’s clock stopped ticking, two days after she turned 30.

She’s been gone for nine years, but it was only this year that I stumbled upon another interpretation of what it means to have loved and lost rather than to have never loved at all.

How else would we find joy and laughter in the moments we’re living now, or imagine what she would have said or done, if we had not loved her?

I can imagine how many Bollywood movies we’d have watched on Netflix by now. She’d probably be way ahead of me.

The hurt still shows up.

We still miss her.

But now, gratitude has joined the mix.

We are thankful that we got to experience life with her, no matter how short that time was. Because in those years, we created memories that will help us carry on.

I guess what I’m also trying to say is, as life keeps “life-ing”, let’s make the moments we spend with the ones we call our own, matter.

Those are the real treasures we should store up.

#griefandloss #gratitude by @syreetaakinyede

Accountability isn't only about presidents, politicians and big organisations.

It's the person who refuses the shortcut.
The manager who allows bad news to travel upward.
The organisation that questions its own decisions.
The citizen who follows one public project instead of simply complaining about all of them.

National accountability doesn't appear overnight. It ripples outward.

Don't just complain about accountability. Come and be part of the conversation this Saturday, August 22nd.
Register via the link in our bio.

#TheRippleEffect #Accountability #Nigeria #KedariFoundation by @syreetaakinyede

One day, I looked in the mirror and it dawned on me that I couldn’t see it again. I felt around. It was there quite alright, just no longer visible.

I looked back at some of my old photos—from as far back as 10 years. There it was, prominent and sturdy, a paragon of youth and beauty, the connector between my arms and the rest of the bony structure underneath my flesh.

Protector of the blood vessels and nerves that make their way down from my neck to my arms.

Shock absorber of my upper body and the only long bone brave enough to lie in a horizontal plane.

Unfortunately, I had never regarded it in that light until I lost sight of it. Cliche that it is, but you never really know the value of what you have until you lose it.

The beauty of the collarbone cannot be overlooked. There is a reason that it is nicknamed the beauty bone.

And no, I am not confused or delusional or dissatisfied with my current physical state, I just believe some states should be preserved.

How could I have been so careless? No, this will not do. I cannot just groan and let waves of nostalgia wash over me.

This calls for some personal excavation. I will become the archaeologist of my own architecture and retrieve my collarbone from the depths of where it is hidden in plain sight.

And it will rise again like the Egyptian Mummy in Brendan Fraser’s movie.

#longlost #comical #funnystory by @syreetaakinyede

Round and round and round we go, when and where we stop, no one knows. by @syreetaakinyede

Pause, Play, Rewind, Record, Radio dial, clean tape, smack tape...
Did you know what the numbers on the tapes stood for (DX7/90).
If you rocked this era, lemme know 😂. by @syreetaakinyede

And that was how, ladies and gentlemen, I grunted and gurgled away to beget Lady Grunty and Sir Gurgles.

It seems, with the arrival of my sister's twins👶🏾👶🏽, my children's author persona awakened.

Writing children's stories was something I considered as one of the hardest things to do and yet, with every video my sister sent me, with every moment I spent with the twins, I realised I wanted to relive those experiences over and over.

Because they made me laugh, forget that the world was looking like it wanted to implode and reminded me of how it felt to have a little one.

And of course, the stories just naturally bubbled to the surface. Inspired by their antics, I've taken that state of joy and babyish delight and created the first of two books in my Baby Antics Series.

Your little ones will love them and so will you 😁.

You can get them only on Amazon for now. Please visit the link in my bio.

I have a few more titles lined up. Can you guess what they will be called?

#babybook
#readaloudbook
#bedtimestory
#childrensbooks by @syreetaakinyede

And Sir Gurgles makes his debut!🥳🎉🎊

If you loved Lady Grunty, you'll love Sir Gurgles even more. Relive what cute and cuddly sound like from a happy baby.

Sir Gurgles and his adorable dimples will have you and your little one smiling and giggling.

Grab a copy today on Amazon. (Link in bio)

#babybook
#readaloudbook
#bedtimestory
#kidsbedtimebooks by @syreetaakinyede

Calling all our grandparents, rich aunties, unclesand godparents. Looking for the perfect gift for a new parent? 💛

Lady Grunty adds the sweetest touch to any baby basket — because every baby has their own little quirks. 👶🏾✨

🎁 Perfect for baby showers, first birthdays & new parents. Purchase via the link in my bio

#BabyGiftIdeas #NewParents #BabyShowerGifts #ChildrensBooks by @syreetaakinyede

Lady Grunty will make a good addition to your reading time.

Relive the cute little moments that babies create, whilst sharing them with your little human .

Maybe yours was also a grunter like Lady Grunty 😁.

Share the memories of baby antics with the little humans in your life. Place your order via the link in my bio.

Clip by @creativecookey
Voice over by @syreetaakinyede

#readaloud #bedtimereading #childrensbooks by @syreetaakinyede

Watching babies grow is such a delight, with their cute and funny reactions and behaviours.

Watching my sister's twins inspired my Baby Antics Series, with each title derived from a certain behaviour or action.

I present Lady Grunty, a tiny, adorable grunter who fills every page with charm and laughter.
I invite you to share her story with the little humans in your life.

Get your copy via the link in my bio 😊

#babybook #readaloud #bedtimestory #childrensbooks by @syreetaakinyede

Some stories are not loud, just lived, learned and lovingly remembered ❤️. by @syreetaakinyede

Syreeta Ekaba Akinyede

@syreetaakinyede