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I crossed out the 31st of March with tears in my eyes. It was a bumpy ride but I had finally come to the end of it and I was grateful to God for all that happened. 
![I Marched out of March with Laughter, Tears, & Lessons.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/iskawrites/243gBHHGLirGX8TzSoydPM12sBKdUDdp11Sjww5o2Z8726w9CpQ9cWFax3hVWmFZTgcUa.png)
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I went over the calendar, scanning for the eventful days which I ticked with a red marker. There was the 2nd of March which was my favorite girl’s birthday. 

My girls and I began planning for it in February, deciding that we were going to take her to the beach since she hadn't been to one in her entire life.

We went ahead to meet with a colleague we knew had recently visited that same beach to ask for directions and inquire about the cost. When she was done analyzing the trip with us, we contributed our saved-up money to see if we were close to the 50,000 naira we estimated but we could only raise half of the money.

“I have an idea,” Lily, one of my girls, began. I looked up at her and so did the other two. “Instead of spending 50k at the beach, why don't we throw a small party with this 25k that we have? We could get her a small cake and drinks, or even cook!”

That was the most economical way to show her we loved her so we unanimously agreed to the plan. 

On the 1st of March after our new month prayers at Lily's house, we made Esther go home first then stayed back to prepare a small pot of chicken and cut up veggies for fried rice.

I could not trade that moment when Esther came into the house and opened her mouth in shock at the dangling balloons, the cake and drinks, and the food.

She was completely overwhelmed and immediately, she wrapped her arms around the 3 of us and began to shower us with prayers of blessings. That was the most beautiful scene I was privileged to see in the month of March.

Then there was the 8th of March, when we had our class production in the Department of Theatre Arts. 

Being on the executive team was more stressful than imagined because while members of the audience trooped in, members of the executive team were running about half-dressed in our costumes, some were barefoot and completely disheveled, trying to ensure that every actor was in the right attire and the right place.

I had to drink a full 35cl of water mixed with glucose to regain my energy before the main show began.

Just when we thought the production was going even better than we imagined, we heard a loud rumble and it began to rain heavily, completely drowning out the voices of the actors even with their microphones.

The head of department had to come forward and apologize to the audience, pleading with them to allow the show to go on hold till the rain subsided and thankfully, no one left the hall until the rain stopped and we were able to conclude the play.

It was the first time a live show had to be paused since I gained admission to study Theatre Arts in the university.

I was grateful when it was finally announced that the semester was officially closed and students were meant to resume after the Easter holiday. I rushed home immediately after the production, picked a couple of important clothes and Toiletries, then headed over to my family house.

For the rest of the month of March, I was sleeping and eating, too drained from the just concluded production to engage in strenuous brain and body activities.

Then there came the Easter celebration.

Living with my mother had subconsciously caused me to want to cook special meals for occasions so I went to the market 3 days before Easter and got some ingredients for white soup along with some yams, without informing my mom.

Her reaction was priceless.

“This was not what I had in mind to prepare for Easter but since you gifted it to us, we'll have it. At least you've taken this one off my shoulder, God bless you” she said smiling widely.

I learnt 2 things from these experiences.

One, so long as you give, you have created a channel for blessings to come to you. 

Secondly, I learned that my parents were waiting silently for me to become of age and take some responsibility off their shoulders. 

It made me quite scared when I thought about the weight of responsibility but at the same time, I believed God would not let me fail them. I also gained the hope that just as Esther had prayed, when I needed the gift of men, especially in the near future, they would not be far from me.

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