Yes, poverty sucks but stick by... for a while

I ate an under-age duck. It was really little and scrawny but it was the only meaty creature aside from us humans, which was wobbling around the compound. We had eaten the rest of its family and were now down to just it. My father and I walked it to the banana plantation, lay it down, caressed the area around its neck and then murdered it in cold blood but later ate it with so much relish, steamed and spiced. 
You see, we were broke; there was no money to buy food, so we had to eat what was available. When my mother told him that we had run out of charcoal, my father would nod and then go out of the house as if to go on a shopping trip to the mall. The trip would lead him to trees in the compound. He would cut down the dried branches and build a fire and behold, food would get cooked. The food, by the way, was mostly immature matooke from my mother’s garden. 
I think we once had pawpaw sauce and posho for lunch. I cannot quite remember whose bright idea it was but yes, we ate that too. I have never drunk so much sugarless porridge in my life as I did back then or read by candle light for so long because electricity too abandoned us in our time of need. That might explain our dark complexion given all that soot. Life was, to say the least, hard but it did not last forever, we came through it together. 
This is not to write a praise report on my mother but the story would not come together if I did not say this. Throughout all this, the chick never left or threw tantrums. Of course, it was not all smooth sailing but they stuck together through thin. So when I hear that Nalumansi left her husband of one year because he was fired and he has not been able to find a job for the last eight months, I do not understand because in my mind, it is not supposed to be this way. 
Yes, poverty sucks, it is scary even but it is just that, poverty. A situation that can change. Now this is not to say that people should be comfortable having little or nothing at all and expect that everything will be normal. 
We should all strive for the best in life but love and relationships should never be built solely on how many dollar signs one has imprinted on their forehead. Yes, romance without finance is a hard paper. Passionate kisses, hugs and sweet words will not pay the bills but money with no love and the perks that come with it is also less than ideal. 
Money can be made, true love, however, cannot really be bought. Do not even tell me about money-hungry 23-year-olds and their confused granny brides. 
Personal finance adviser, Michelle Singletary, wrote that money may not buy love, but fighting about it will bankrupt your relationship. So, let us make love but money too. Sounds to me like a good, manageable and balanced deal. I still do not think being broke justifies stinginess. 
Disclaimer: I do not eat ducks and I love me some money, good ol’ money. 
jnapio@ug.nationmedia.com

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