Nigerian parents and their 'small small' instructions that turn into full projects

My mother called me this morning. She said, "Emeka, when you finish class, go to the market for me. Just small thing." Small thing. I ended up buying plantain, pepper, onions, crayfish, and a new pot because she said the old one 'has seen better days'. I carried everything on my head like a market woman, and my phone was buzzing with her follow-up instructions the whole way.

It's never small. It's always a mission. And if you dare ask "Mummy, is this not too much?" she will tell you "You are the one we sent to school, you should know how to manage things." As if Economics 301 taught me how to balance a basket of plantain on my head in traffic.

Anyway, I got back to the hostel and my roommate asked me why I look like I ran a marathon. I just told him, "Small thing from my mother." He laughed. He knows. We all know. The only people who don't know are our mothers, and they will never know because they will always believe it was truly small. Na so life be.