Mummy Diaries Post 001
I will never forget the day I woke up to my son then only 2years and my daughter 1, shrieking from their respective cots! It’s like they had come together in a tag team to shout and be heard! One encouraging the other. I remember waking up with a fright then bursting out in laughter! No, it didn’t stop them from shrieking but, it did encourage my hubby to whip out his phone and record this moment in history!
We look back at that video with such fascination and pride for having made it past such a challenging phase of parenthood!
It’s rare that one can spot the humour in their situation when you are exhausted, bags under your eyes, one boob hanging out the spaghetti strap top, hair looking like you and Einstein share a hairdresser, and the standard white drool mark running across your cheek! It’s no wonder why some women may choose to define themselves in 3 major phases: Life before the kids, Life at the Baby stage with the kids, and then Life post baby/toddler phase. In my opinion, it’s very possible that these were 3 very different women meshed into one body that can share the tales of what was, what is, and hopefully will be.
I remember when I told my mother that we were expecting our second child, she literally cried. As in cried, real tears. I was so confused by her reaction and gave her time to compose herself as I waited impatiently for an explanation on why she was behaving as though I had just shared the worst news with her ever. Having another child was a good thing, wasn’t it??? Although the baby was a happy surprise, I expected joy and jubilation coming from my mum. When she finally composed herself she explained what I thought was, her bizarre reaction. Yes, at the point of finding out of our incoming bundle of joy, our son was only about 4.5months old, which was quicker than planned, but we were still ecstatic nevertheless.
My older brother and I are 16months apart, call it a year. That for my mum was probably one of the most challenging time for her as a mother of infants and a toddler. Growing up, she often told us how hard it was having a 4 year old, 1 year old and a newborn. I remember her tales about having 2 buckets of nappies to wash daily. My brother’s and mine. She would talk about the sibling rivalry that would take place between my brother and I whilst we both did our best to get her attention. She would laugh at my brother’s many attempts at crawling out of the cot to try and make it to the bed that I got to share with the parents given I was still breastfeeding.
I am pretty sure she often left out many details about how hard it was raising two kids so close in age but now that I am a mum, I can kind of understand how much harder things were for her in the 80s. My dad then, was often busy at work and with his “Boys” thereafter. What that meant, is that she didn’t have the extra support that I have with my hubby, from her husband, during those years. Times were different then I guess, but clearly hard enough for her first reaction to my baby news to be pity first, then joy. It was tough for her raising us 3 kids, but clearly, certainly worth the effort as the other 2 girls joined the team a few years later. 5 kids later, and many ups and downs of parenting under the belt, we kids still remained my mother’s greatest achievement! The jewels on her crown and her very reason for being!
It’s a colorful journey this motherhood thing, certainly a journey worth taking! Happy Mother’s Day, heck we can make it a week to all the mum’s out there!
RIP Norah Grace Tafadzwa Moeketsi 1954-2017.
Written by Trish Njogu