Letter To An Infant

Dearest,

I have written and rewritten this letter so many times I lost count. It took me so long, you are now 6 weeks old. I want this to be perfect, yet I know I will fail.

I will always remember the moments that I held you in my arms. Whenever your eyes looked into mine, I melted like butter in the hot sun. I'll always remember the way your small mouth pouts whenever you're content, and your toothless grins when you're drowsy.

I hope you will love travelling as much as I do. I hope you'll find joy taking long spartan train rides and walking for hours in some foreign cities. I hope you'll soak yourself in the differing cultures and not mind carrying around heavy backpacks and sleeping in some cheap motel. I hope you'll embrace the sands and beaches, and also the streets and fountains of the world. I hope your idea of travelling is not just a quick flight to a fancy hotel and guided tours.

I hope you'll take a shine to photography because I want to spend hours with you on photography trips, and be able to teach you a thing or two about apertures and shutter speeds. I want you to do it because it gives you satisfaction and not because the hipster kid next door is doing it too.

I hope you'll be interested in the outdoors, and we can go on camping trips just the two of us. We'll swim in the icy cold water of the river in the mornings and start a barbecue at night and I will tell you the best horror stories I can come up with so that you'll want to sleep close to me.

I hope you'll enjoy football so we can go to matches together. I hope you wouldn't mind the crowd and the deafeniing roar, and I hope you'll feel the elation of winning though sometimes you will have to bear the bitterness of defeat.

I hope for so many things but the truth is, I just want you to be your own man. Always remember your roots, and you would not stray far. Be kind always, have patience and have as little regrets in life as possible. You will have heartbreaks and you will break hearts. Cherish your family, especially mama. You will understand why when you have your own child later, trust me. Treasure your good friends because some do stick around for life. Love and be loved in return, and the world is a much better place for it.

I love you.

Yours truly,
Abah.