July 1, 2013 — Kalat
July 1, 2013 — Kalat
Her name is Zigwai Elizabeth Isioma. She’s the most amazing thing that ever came out of me, and she turned 6 months today (yup, you calculated right, New Year baby). I love her more than I ever thought it possible to love another human being.
You’re wondering about her name right? Ok I’ll tell you. Her dad (yours truly) comes from a town called Kagoro somewhere in Southern Kaduna State, Nigeria. Zigwai is a Kagoro name, and her mom and dad gave her that name.
Being that she’s the first grandchild on both sides, both sets of grandma and grandpa sent their names. My parents called her Elizabeth, and my wife’s parents called her Isioma. She has been a bundle of joy and turns heads everywhere she goes. (Already considering where I’ll be hiding my shotgun)
The reason for my piece today however, is not really to sing Zigwai’s praise, as I am often wont to do (just look at that smile, I can’t help myself). It’s about what she represents.
A lot of people asked me lots of questions when they heard I was getting married to an Igbo woman. Not just Igbo in fact, but Delta Igbo. “Ha…do you know what you’re getting yourself into?” If I had a naira for every time I heard that…
We’ve been married a year, six months and three weeks now. No regrets. We loved each other (still do), believed it was God’s will, and went ahead with it no matter who said what.
We decided we wouldn’t let the fear people around us felt decide how we would live. Fear about the things they knew or didn’t know of people with another tongue, from another land.
Zigwai represents the unity that love can forge. The trust in the intrinsic goodness of another human being that wipes away that fear gnawing at the edge of your mind.
For us, and for our generation, now more than ever before, we need to reach out, step out of our comfort zone, embrace that difference, that change. Touch the unknown. Chances are that if we don’t, we’ll miss out on something beautiful that could have been…
Like Zigwai Elizabeth Isioma.
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About Kalat: Kalat is just a curious guy trying to figure out what this life’s all about. He tweets @talakbags and recently started blogging at www.kyuriyuskay.wordpress.com.