The Diary Game [09/10/2025] //When Things Did not Go as Planned.

Steem greetings guys from the motherland of Cameroon, and welcome to my blog, where I share my lifestyle content with you all. Today started like many others, with the usual morning rush and organised chaos of getting the kids ready for school. I woke up at 4:30 AM, despite my body begging for just thirty more minutes of sleep. The Harmattan breeze is starting to blow, so getting out of bed is becoming more of a battle every day. But motherhood does not allow for delays.

By 6:00AM I was already packing lunchboxes with snacks, yogourt and some oat milk. I ironed the kids’ uniforms the night before (thank God), so dressing them was smoother than usual. Still, there were the usual shouts of “…Mummy, I can’t find my socks” “…He took my pencil…” notwithstanding, I managed to put them all together, say our morning prayer, and get them out the door in time for the school bus. That little wave they give me through the window always makes me smile.

After they left, I turned to prepare myself for work. My mind was already running through my to-do list ranging from a staff meeting, client follow-up calls, and some pending reports. Breakfast was rushed, just a cup of tea and a small piece of bread and off I went to hustle.

Surprisingly, work was less stressful than I anticipated. By 2:00 PM, I had completed most of my tasks, and I asked to leave early. I had this perfect plan in my head to get home, rest for an hour, finish some light office work from my laptop, then treat the kids to some delicious chicken barbecue. I was excited it's been a while since we did something like that together.

Nonetheless, things did not go as planned as I got home, settled in, opened my laptop and boom Starlink showed "restricted access." I restarted the router twice but nothing changed. The frustration was heavy and I felt powerless.

So I shut down the laptop and went outside to play with the kids instead. We kicked a ball around, played hide and seek, and laughed hard when my youngest son fell trying to do a cartwheel. At least their energy lifted my mood a little and my daughter came up with a chicken barbecue plan 😁.

^{Having some play time with my sons.}

Later, I decided to walk around the neighbourhood looking for a vendor with a good-sized fowl for the barbecue. I had the taste of spice and smoke already in my mouth. I walked for over an hour but could not find anything. All I could find were skinny, bony chickens not worth the effort. The disappointment hit hard and I gave up and slowly walked back home, barbecue dreams postponed to tomorrow.

^{Road to a poultry farm.}

As I passed by the local football field, a group of guys were still deep in their game, their voices echoing across the open space while the light slowly faded from the sky. The evening was settling in, and shadows stretched long across the ground, but they did not seem to mind and I was caught up in the rhythm of play, the friendly shouts, and the thrill of chasing one last goal before dark. I paused for a moment, leaning on the fence, taking in the quiet drama of the game, the kind that makes you laugh and forget about your problems. After a while, I moved on, the sounds of the field fading behind me as I continued my search for fowls for the chicken barbecue.

The day ended calmly, though. After dinner, I sat with the kids, checked their books, corrected some homework, and explained a math problem twice until it finally clicked.

^{Assisting my son with homework.}

Some days do not go as planned, but at least we shared laughter and learning and tomorrow is another opportunity to do better. Until my next diary guys, it is goodnight from my end.