About My Brother....

It's day 357 of documenting 2025.

8 days to 2026

My first holiday Tuesday with ma homies! 

My brother turned out to be very accommodating....it seems like he wore another personality!

Today's post is going to be all about him.

My brother. Let's call him P.

He's younger than me with just one year and I've lived with him my whole life.

So, I should know how he behaves and acts...sometimes thinks.

Maybe it's because we're 3 girls and he's the only guy.

That's why he decided to be more....gentlemanly.

(Yeah, that's the word! 😁)

We came on Sunday, that's a few days ago...and the next day, being yesterday, he surprised me.

He washed plates!

Even when we were done eating, he helped us take the plates to the kitchen!

Then he used the axe to break up the wood we used to cook yesterday.

The P I know is very different from this guy....😏

Let me digress here.

So, in our house...the methods of cooking are a mix of ancient and modern.

There's the gas cooker...and there's also the firewood.

Firewood is for when we do general cooking, and to save gas.

Gas is for when there's no firewood (which rarely happens) or when rain falls. 

Last night, heavy rain fell.

So, we couldn't use the firewood in the morning.

My aunt allowed us use the gas for tea, which we ate with bread.

Alright, back to my story.

I'm sure if it was only my brother and me, he would have acted differently.

Or the major reason here: 

He has really changed.

Or because of the place where we are, with more ladies and him being the only guy.

He also came with his books.

That, I'm not surprised about.

He's a natural scholar....who loves to argue to prove his point and wants to be the best at what he does.

The day he told me that he came to this school to be the best, I beamed proudly. My brother! 🥲

I think school is changing P.

Back at home, he used to be closed off, mean to me and my siblings and sometimes disrespectful to my dad. He's different now.

More responsible. More caring.

I hope it gets better.

And I thank God for the transformation.

That's all on my brother...

I now want to say a little about my plate dilemma yesterday.

Man! I don't even know what's wrong with me 🤦

But first, let's dive into highlights.

365 Days With Self-discipline

📌 On the Rare Indulgence

"Rare indulgence produces greater pleasure."

Quote by Juvenal

Here’s a simple trick to postpone acting on a temporary urge: tell yourself that you’ll engage in it later, and your reward for postponing it will be the greater pleasure it will give you.

I know, it sounds like an overly simplistic tip, but try it out.

I regularly tell myself that I’ll reward myself with something that I crave

right now, but only after I finish my work or any other important (or uncomfortable) task that I have to perform.

That way, I stop obsessing about getting the reward right now and I actually want to get it later, because I know that it will taste so much better than giving in to it now.

I used to apply this technique back at home...but I stopped on getting to school.

I would tell myself that I would enjoy this reward after I finish all my work, but it's like I leave off what I'm supposed to be doing for something else.

I really need to call myself to order.

God help me! 😑

Earlier today, I was ignoring what I needed to do. Wash plates.

You know what I've noticed?

When it gets to things that need to be done, my mind gets hypersensitive.

In that, I'm always thinking about that thing and how it will get done.

When I know it's me that needs to do it, I come up with ways on how to avoid it.

That exactly played out today.

It was somehow my turn to wash the plates...and after eating, I just sat down, thinking and overthinking of how I would wash the plates...

More like avoid the work! 😒

I just lay there...not wanting to get up and get it done.

My conscience started with its own judgement.

"If you know what needs to be done and you don't do it, it's a sin to you".

The last Bible verse in James 4.

(Just me paraphrasing...)

"You're meant to do it...and if you leave it off, you'll never be at rest"

Yeah! My mind can be that harsh!

I still lay there, and started to feel sleepy.

I just picked my book, and then took a mat and blanket to the verandah, where I fell asleep.

I think my phone was charging by then....

Later on, my aunt came back and we had lunch...boiled yam with red oil. 

The best local meal there is 😋

Afterwards, my aunt reminded us of the plates and by then, the morale to do the work was there because my cousin and her friend helped out.

I ended up washing the plates...doing the work I so much wanted to avoid.

It wasn't grudgingly.

So, I understand what happened.

I didn't want to wash the plates because of the thought of doing it alone.

When other people were around, it was easy for me to do it.

It's not always like that tho...

Sometimes, I don't need anybody to be around before I do what I need to....and other times, I'm just lazy.

Me saying that I need to call myself to order is no understatement.

I need to change!

Anyways, I believe all of this environmental changes and happenings is revealing more about me to myself...and what needs to worked on in my life.

I thank God for this experience and I hope to do better another time.

Well, that would be all for today's post.

Thanks for reading 🎀

I didn't mention that I was able to call my siblings back at home...and congratulate my youngest sibling, who turned 11 yesterday!

I talked to him, wished him a happy birthday...and even sent some money for him to buy something for him to celebrate with.

That's the least I can do, as I couldn't post his picture on my status.

It's a madhouse on WhatsApp 🙄

That aside, it's less than 10 days to the end of this blog...

I can't actually say if I'm happy or sad, but one thing is for sure...

I'm going to keep documenting.

I'm considering video, but I don't even know how to start thinking about it.

Let's see how it goes...

See you in the next post 💜