A Century later....

This is one long post but please bear with me....

This is my hundredth post in bloggerland. I have subconsciously been saving it for today as I am very much into symmetry and I quite liked the thought of a hundredth post on the first day of the new year.

This post is all about reminiscing and gratitude for the long journey that the Almighty Allah has taken me on. Sometimes I say to myself Toks, you have not done badly for a boy from the backstreets of Lagos (or Bode Thomas). So where to start with giving thanks?

• I have to start with Allah without whom nothing is possible.
• I then thank my maternal grandparents whom I lived with for some time when I was growing up (this was during the phase when my mum thought I was getting out of hand and needed a change of environment - especially after the firecracker incident).
• I thank my paternal grandmother who every day and every night would regale me with the family "rap" that served as a constant reminder of who I was\am. Omo olowon la, omo tatan bulu, omo olowon la ton shi lekun fole. This is the only part that I can remember and translates loosely to the son of a rich man, brave and strong, son of a man so rich he opens the door for robbers (of course this was in the day sof the gentlemen robbers!)
• I thank my parents who have done their best for me through everything. They have never turned their back on me, I have never wanted for nought and I can never repay them a fraction of the blood , sweat and tears that they have shed on my well being and that of my siblings.
• I thank my friends with whom I grew up on Bode Thomas. I especially remember my friend Igbo leg, so known because no matter where he was positioned during our regular games of football the ball would invariably end up in the bushes. At one point we even recruited younger members of the neighbourhood to keep vigilance in the bushes whenever he played just to ensure a swift return of the ball. That boy was a legend on the street and I wonder where he and so many others are now?
• I thank Mrs Omolulu and Mrs Branco who nurtured me at Adrao International School.
• I thank the boys of Igbobi college (UP IC) who were in my set and were my friends - the dearly departed Adefusikas, the Ibrus, the Majekodunmins and all the rest.
• I thank all the friends that have guided my life through my 13 year sojourn in the US and my 20 year adventure in the Queen's realm (ps I was a just a child when I left Naija oh).
• I thank Iyawo for bringing a different dimension, colour and perspective to my life. I mean I can now eat, mushrooms, sushi and lasagne without wanting to puke. I can actually visit a museum and get some enjoyment out of it. I can wear my white loafers and she will still stick with me (albeit from a distance).
• I thank my wonderful kids for their love and understanding during the past hectic and mad two years. I thank them for the trust that they have put in me and only pray that I can give them twice the life that my parents gave me.
• I thank Jeremy for turning me on to blogging and allowing me to have an outlet for all my musings and madness
• Finally, I thank you all for sharing the ride (even you Anonymous). Here is to another year and another hundred posts.

To end (I did say that this was going to be long) I leave you with one of my favourite poems ever)- Desiderata. Enjoy. Happy New year.

-- written by Max Ehrmann in the 1920s

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.
as far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.