Waholla Day!!!

Waholla: A term coined by Nigerians to describe something crazy that happens. Any time you wake up in the morning and the words "No", "driver" and "Malaria" are uttered in the same sentence ...you know you are about to have a crazy day. Everything was quiet and going smoothly until about 8:15 when Guy told me that Fatai had not come into work this morning. He had not called Guy or myself to let us know he wouldn't be in today. I know it may not seem like a big deal to just get in the car and drive yourself.....but, here....you really are taking your life into your hands if you decide to drive yourself anywhere here. I had Jeremy who needed to get to school and Elizabeth who had to attend her playgroup as well as a few errands I needed to run. So, I called a friend here at the compound and she said that i could use her driver. Good, Problem solved...or so I thought. Then, my phone rang and it was Fatai...he told me he was sick and then the phone went dead. I called him back....he said he had Malaria...and the phone went dead ( gotta love cell phone reception here in Lagos) I called him back again and he told me "I won't be in tomorrow or the next tomorrow or the tomorrow after that." Then, the phone went dead. I decided not to call him back because I was so frustrated. So, as I was finally getting the kids' teeth brushed, the phone rings again and it is Fatai. Now, he is telling me he will be in tomorrow......what the %$#@?????? And at the same time he called me on my cell, my home phone rang and it was a friend of Fatai's ( a fellow driver) who was telling me that Fatai was sick and couldn't come in. There I was on two different phones with two different drivers...neither of which could help me. I promptly hung up with both of them. Just as I was about to walk out the door, the phone ran again.......all I could think was " Lord, please help me." It was my friend who told me I could use her driver...she was having her own waholla day and needed her driver for an emergency. So, there I was again without a driver....I was about to say that I couldn't take the kids anywhere today ( and sit in a corner and bang my head against a wall), when I realized that another friend was gone this week and she wouldn't be using her driver...he happened to be here and the problem as solved...thankfully....but not without a lot of waholla.:)