Dad. Do you know why I gave you my birthday money presents? So that you can pay your medical bills and get better faster.

These were the words of my 5 year old son. That statement made me shed a tear, which I quickly wiped. You see, CallaN had a birthday party on Saturday. It wasn’t really his birthday – his birthday was in the previous weekend and we had a small cake and the neighbours kids over. This birthday party was organized by my friends. I had just come from hospital the weekend before his birthday and my friends – I’ll tell you about how amazing friends I have – decided to host me for a Thanksgiving party of some sort, and CallaN for his belated birthday.

And so, they came. And we had a big party. A fitting birthday party for the 5 year milestone and a fitting get together of friends after the road accident that nearly created another type of ceremony. Shetani ashindwe.

At five, CallaN knows about money. He has a piggy bank he religiously feeds. He is saving money to go to Saudi Arabia to see Cristiano Ronaldo.

But on this occasion, any monetary gift he got, he gave to me. At the end, he held my head and blessed me the way I bless him. And today, he told me those words exactly.

Dad. Do you know why I gave you my birthday money presents? So that you can pay your medical bills and get better faster.

—

That’s who my only begotten son in whom I’m well pleased is. He drops these nuggets that make you wonder if he’s an old man in a baby’s body. Wise man, this one.

Someone recently told me I don’t talk about CallaN a lot. Someone that has never even seen CallaN. They said that I was always raving about Calla and I don’t have about CallaN as much. They thought it was a thing with Oedipus and Electra  complex where fathers are tighter with their daughters than their sons and mothers are tighter with their sons than their daughters.

I say they are wrong. They should have said I’m older. I’m an experienced parent without the njathiba of a new parent. Also, I blog much less here nowadays. I hope that this season will be a way back and the world will know about CallaN.

This is the story of CallaN and fatherhood. My fatherhood. 

I was there when he was born. He had refused to come out – had to be coaxed. And I was almost traumatized experiencing a birth. It’s not an easy process, gentlemen. Salute mothers.

So, we bonded from the get go. And we’re pretty close. His milestones were faster than Calla’s. He sat, crawled,  walked and talked earlier. I remember Calla keeping a log of all new words her brother spoke. Started with Dada and stopped counting at 50. She played a huge role in his development.

When he started speaking, he would say things that would shock is. He still does from time to time but less frequently. He kept talking about a previous life. I was in that life – and no one else in the family. We used to go to picnics and movies and hikes and playgrounds and do father son activities. Spooks me every time. I think he’s pretty spiritual.

And so, when he drops these grown up tidbits, it does not shock me much.

The first time we went back home after my dad’s funeral, he woke up early, went to the graveside as I watched in hiding and he prayed for a long time, occasionally looking up towards the sky. He was three years old. It’s not in our culture to do that, so I’m sure he had not seen anyone doing it.

IKR!

—

CallaN loves football. So much. It’s the only game he can play all day and not get bored. He also loves Cristiano Ronaldo in a cultic way. I guess it’s a kids thing. There is lots of CR7 content online targeting kids and it has caught CallaN.

That’s why he wants to go to Saudi Arabia to see his hero. The Middle East war has been my excuse for not taking him.

And now that he is five, I’m actively looking for soccer academies for him. He has the passion and the will to succeed. And my parenting policy is, if my kids are talented at something, I’ll support them wholly.

So give me recommendations.