My daughter is turning 2 in two months. 24 whole months of… well…bliss! Lol. I am being bad but honestly it has been wonderful and I cannot believe that she is already this WHOLE little person. She walks and talks, oh yeah, she talks a lot! She feeds herself and counts to ten. She chooses her own shoes and demands the food she likes. She loves sweets (not so proud of that) and loves fruits too! Every type of meat is called chicken and anyone that leaves the house is headed to ZAMBIA! We seem to be well ahead of our milestones albeit the fact that we ain’t potty trained yet, and nowhere close to it- humph!
As she grows, I somehow see a reflection of her in myself. In not the same way, I too have grown by leaps and bounds. The girl I was before her, is now a woman. A mother. I have gained some pounds and then lost a few, some stretch marks here and there, a giant scar and keloid where she was removed from my belly, a weaker bladder, dark circles under my eyes and most notably, preggie brain that never went away!
But non-physically I have gone through some kinda mental metamorphosis.

1. I AM WAY CHILLED
My growth has seen me become more relaxed. Perhaps more than I have ever been. My husband can attest to this because I feel like my “nagometer” has gathered some dust over the months. I mean it takes a lot for me to sweat the things I used to fret about before, like clothes on the floor right next to the washing basket, or the cap left off the toothpaste (not forgetting the toothpaste squeezed from the middle section instead of the bottom), or the milk that spoils after being left out. I could go on, but that would somehow contradict my newfound chilled persona.

2. I DON’T RUSH
I recall my sister in law Namwene, telling me that after you have kids, you may lose a sense of urgency unless the cause is very important. Let’s just say, very few things are that important in the greater scheme of things. If it means my daughter finishing off her nap and being a happier kid, I will gladly arrive late and deal with the consequences later. It may be something to do with a shift in priorities.

3. I VALUE MY SLEEP
Let’s just say my time is not mine so when I get a chance to sleep and be alone, I take it to the limit. I sleep when I can. In movies. At the back of the car. In church. On the couch. Heck even in the staff toilets at work if it’s that crazy. The bottom line is I will not have my sleep back to normal until my kids move out.

4. WINE IS EVERYTHING
I don’t wanna come across as an alchie but I am. I mean I NEED a glass of wine very often in the day. So when I get home and lil princess is fussy and I still have to cook, bath her, feed her, sing and play ringa ringa roses with her, a glass of wine takes the edge away- always!

5. I LOVE AND RESPECT MY MOM
I mean I always did, however now I look at her like a global hero in my eyes. She raised 6 little twits plus her hubby while maintaining a successful business and she did it with such grace. Honestly, I believe in the phrase “Don’t let’em see you sweat” but she took it to another level. I have one child and a hubby. I sweat all day and night. If I could be half the woman she and many other mothers are, then I’m good.