Christmas at Uncle Kelvin's

It is almost Christmas. The holiday season is mostly about family, fun, and food. Everyone seems to be in a good mood. I want to have a wonderful Christmas, but I knew I would be going back to the same old tradition of a boring Christmas at home. I watched my friends and classmates talk about all the memories they had about Christmas, the gifts from relatives, and travels to interesting places. What I had was mostly family and food; the fun was hardly present as my mom preferred to cook for the whole community and my dad busied himself with church activities. My school guardian called me into his office and told me my mom wanted to have a word with me. Phones were not allowed, but my guardian made them available for me whenever I needed to talk to my family.

"Your uncle wants you to come around for Christmas; he'll pick you up after your vacation, okay?" My mom said this over the phone before hanging up. I did not know whether to be happy or sad. I have always spent Christmas at home, and since I joined boarding high school three years ago, I have always reverted home for the holidays. My uncle, Engr. Kelvin, lives in Nasarawa, a 2-hour's journey from my school. He was my mom's older brother and came visiting occasionally when I was much younger here in Ibadan. I was 14 years old, and in JSS 3, some distance away from home, Abuja to be precise, and fair enough, my uncle's house was closer, even though I did not look forward to it, and I would not be much missed by my friends back home in Ibadan. I was the loner type.

"How was school, Fred?" Uncle Kelvin asked as he drove me out of my school gate ten days after my mom informed me. Uncle Kelvin looked fresh, and I heard he was doing well, working in a government establishment; the details were not ones with which I concerned myself. My uncle excitedly tried to engage me in conversations about school, family, and whatnot. I nodded occasionally to give him a supportive response so he would not notice my uninterested attitude. I sat with him in his 2014 Corolla salon car, the air conditioner almost freezing my fragile skin. He seemed to have noticed my discomfort and reduced the intensity. He asked me to make myself comfortable and tell him if I needed anything along the way, which I respectfully declined (I wondered why he's acting so nice, though). The journey was smooth; Abuja had its traffic as usual but was bearable.

Well, Uncle Kelvin surely lived in a beautiful house within a quiet environment, an estate. We were welcomed by his wife, Aunty Pat, as we mostly referred to her (short for Patricia). She had a warm and radiant smile as she held me in a bear hug. "You're welcome, big boy. I hope Uncle Kelvin got you something to munch on while on your way here." She asked with a look of concern.

"Yes, ma'am," I replied with a smile as she helped me with my bag into the house. I was shocked to see many people in the house. Of course, I knew Uncle Kelvin had just three kids (Sandra, Raymond, and Cynthia), but from the few I could count, we were eight teenagers, most of whom I recognized as my cousins. Eventually, I discovered we were all related.

"Guys, let's welcome Fred; the season is upon us all." Uncle Kelvin said it excitedly as my cousins came around to welcome me with hugs and handshakes. I was not comfortable, being an introvert, but the least I could do to appreciate my uncle was to replicate his gesture with some openness.

Soon after I settled in, we had dinner, and there was a surplus to eat. Aunty Pat happened to be a great cook.

The next few days began to unravel themselves as my uncle and his wife (the adults in the house) led us through a series of games, debates, quizzes, and competitions, forcing me to come out of my shell as I had to work with one of my cousins as a team. That was not all; my uncle staged a cooking competition after pairing each of us with the opposite gender. Though I was a loner, losing had never been my thing, and perhaps I was beginning to loosen my attitude to be more receptive and interactive. Beyond taking us around town to enjoy the view of the beautiful city of Lafia (Nasarawa's capital), we went to the cinema and also enjoyed animated games. Uncle Kelvin, in addition, gave each team the sim of N20, 000 ($20) for a Christmas project.

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While other teams invested in Christmas trees and decorations, Sandra, my teammate, and I concluded we would make some purchases for the orphaned children. My uncle was kind enough to take us to an orphanage home, and seeing the smiles and gratitude on these little orphans melted my heart.

I really could not say why Uncle Kelvin brought us together, but I enjoyed the bond of family even while we had lots of fun and food.

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