AUNTY CARO

 The first thing anybody ma Igbo people kwesịrị ịma bụ na enwe a lot of complications on who answers family in an Igbo family. In certain environments, a family friend bụ family, so is a help, a family staff or someone who comes from the same village or state. Aunty Caro was family in this way and more. She was family because she was around since day one. She was also family because she is actually from the same village with mma mma mụ.

Ọ Aunty Caro bụ ihe sara anyị ahụ everyday till we each moved off to boarding house and came back shy to remove our clothes n'iru ya. Ọ yawa bụkwu onye mere our Kellog's in the mornings and said "tinye ụkwụ gị" as she held out our Bata. She was there n'ụtụtụ days mum and dad had to go out early and in the evenings of mbọsi ndị ha bata late which was like every other day. She was also the one that replied "ọ dị n'imi mu" with biting sarcasm when I asked on Monday mornings if she knew where my school bag was. 

Aunty Caro did everything my parents kwuru apart from isụrụ anyị oyibo. We just assumed na ọ marọ asụ oyibo at first without knowing she knew what she was doing. Of course Oyibo ya nwe comma, mana ọ kali isụrụ anyi pidgin like all the other people kposa na be anyị at different times in our growing up years. Aunty Caro ga ama ụma gwa gị something na Igbo even though she could have said it na oyibo or ignored saying it at all. It was Aunty Caro ka m gwara the day my teacher sịrị "Clinton a makwanu akwụkwọ mana ọbụ anụ ọhịa" to another teacher because she thought I didn't understand Igbo. Ị ma na Aunty Caro so mụ jee school the next day ịreport to the reverend sister bụ our headteacher at the time. Ọ sịrị ya na my parents dị livid mgbe ha nụrụ maka the comment. N'ọnụ ya ka m nọ nụ "livid" for the very first time.

Aunty Caro bụ mum. Ọmụrọ anyị mana ọ bụ mum. Ọ bụ family.

PS picture above is from i-d.vice.com