ᴄʜʀɪsᴛᴍᴀs ʀᴜᴍʙʟᴇ: ғᴀᴍɪʟʏ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴍʏ ʀᴇʟᴇɴᴛʟᴇss ᴠɪsɪᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀʀᴋᴇᴛ.

My family as Christians we celebrate Christmas in a grand way not because of the religious aspect of it only but due to family gatherings attached to it, which means during Christmas we always have a lot of mouth to feed since the whole family will be gathering in one place including some of my maternal and paternal extended relatives. Over 6 years ago ever since my maternal grandmother passed away we have always celebrated Christmas in our family house at ikorodu where my entire family reside, so traveling is never an option maybe someday.

Since few days ago my relatives have been arriving for the Christmas celebration, as the host we had to make sure they stay fed. One thing about relatives is that you can't really know there actual number because some of their friends might tag along or another distant relative of theirs might also Come along. When thinking about how to be best prepared for their needs, it is like rolling a dice. As much fun it is to have them around, it is never easy to keep them entertained. I have been running errand to the market since Saturday last week just to get all that is needed but there is always something remaining or probably we run out of something.

Though it is not as if I'm the only one in the family that is eligible to go to the market, I have an elder brother who happens to be home for this year Christmas celebration, he usually come around but not this early but he can't drive, believe my dad had tried to teach him but for some reasons best known to him he doesn't seem to be interested in it. While my other siblings are not old enough to drive to the market, which means even if I'm not interested in entering the market I still have to drive them there which seems like going to the market.

The most funny thing about Lagos market is that they are all crowded especially this time of the year, you have to patiently wait for your turn before you can be attended to and also not all the items are sold in one place, you have to search through the market to get the items you need. There is a popular market known in our Area as Sabo market, a lot of food stuff and materials are sold there at a very affordable price but this market is as large as a whole community, navigating through the market is never easy.

The aspect of this market I dislike the most is when you are trying lift your items to your destination but there is no road to pass through. it is either someone is just standing there doing nothing or some of those sellers have decided to put some items on the round despite knowing what they are used for. The most funny aspect of it is when you are trying to force your way through the narrow pathways in the market and you end up stepping on someone or matching something that belongs to one of those market women, Damn!!! that is when you will know how violent some people can be.

I drove back and forth between my house and market several times between last week Saturday and yesterday. As if going to Sabo market wasn't enough I had to go to Sabo fish market, a little different from Sabo major market but it is also crowded. I'm just glad the whole Corona virus is now behind us if not I would have definitely been in trouble because it felt like we were walking on each other heads in the fish market before we could get to our destination. I'm not really sure which part annoyed me the most, is it the unyielding crowd in the fish market or the weather that I was unable to differentiate if it was harmattan season or dry season. the heat was so intense and yet there was harmattan.

Well if going to the market frequently is counted as a trip, then I have had so many trips. The only advantage of going to the market right now is that I can also get any stuff for myself in the process without spending a dime out of my money but is the stress worth it? it doesn't seem like going to the market will be ending anytime soon as the holiday continues till next year and I still have mouth to feed. Well this is how it is going for me so far, hopefully taking turns in the market becomes less frequent.

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_{This write-up was inspired by weekly featured content titled "Compliment of the season" in hive learners community.}

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_{Cover image - 𝖣𝖾𝗌𝗂𝗀𝗇𝖾𝖽 𝗎𝗌𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖼𝖺𝗇𝗏𝖺}

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