V14 Adventures

Since becoming a Mother, everything means more to me. . And for clarification, I became a mother the day I realised I was pregnant, looked at my husband, smiled and said, “I think we are going to have a baby soon!” So, realising I was pregnant started the “Being a Mom” journey for me. I started to learn what I thought was endurance and perseverance was a poor imitation of the meanings of those words. I became more spiritual. Speaking joy, health, peace, love, success, wisdom, intelligence and all things beautiful to my then unborn baby. The preparation for sleepless nights, early mornings (so not my thing), dates planned around my bump and hormones which then metamorphosed into an actual little human 😱, an aching body and loss of privacy started in pregnancy.

Being Mum means becoming even more aware of my finance and working on my investment portfolio. Little Man has got to have a secure future. I’ve had to rethink my career choices, to ensure it is family friendly and flexible for my little genius. I’ve become even more aware of safety is. I’m hyper aware of my surroundings, hyper alert about who comes close to him, conscious of my attitude and outlook. Being Mum has turned me into both a tiger and an angel. Now, I relate with people based on how they relate to my little one and I have no apologies on that score. I’m stronger than I think (and that’s a lot!) when my son calls for me, I find the strength and energy to tend to him, regardless of how tired or sick I am. Being Mum, has made me MORE. 

Being Mum has made me a super Goddess. I have the power to create, to nurture, to forge, to build another human being. To make him self aware of who he is and the powers he wields. I’m constantly conscious that he is my love letter to the future, my biography of my existence and I must raise him right. Teach him to be gentle and tough, loving and giving, kind and thoughtful, cultured and respectful, Hardworking and driven, insightful and courageous, brave and wise, patient and understanding, smart and witty. Wow! What powers I wield. 

Yesterday, I was at a playgroup and there was one constant conversation that kept popping up, “Loss of Self Time!” Oh how glad I was to hear all those Mamas expressing the very same thoughts. If you have only just had a baby, enjoy that time. Lol. It gets easier and harder all at once as they grow. Here are some points we all raised. Please feel free to add yours.

1. Wake up whenever you want to especially on weekends.
2. Eat whatever you want, whenever you want. The calories don’t count. 
3. Have private conversations with a toddler close by
4. Have quick visits to the supermarkets 
5. Have spa days without some intense plotting and planning very close to draconian. 
6. Catch up with old and new friends without interruptions. 
7. Forget what real intelligent adult conversation sounds like. 
8. Why is your hair such a mess?
9. Why are your clothes stained?
10. Where is the glamorous woman I used to know?
11. Have full nights of intense raving passion.
12. Go out without a human handbag.
13. Take a lone picture.
14. Whose phone is it?
15. Constant paranoia 
16. Friends from the immediate past who still hang out with us. What a laugh. Really?
17. Having time to read a great book. Yes. In our dreams. 
18. A really quiet and clean home. Haha. 
19. Teething again???!!!!
20. Nights out sipping cocktails in exotic bars, dressed to the nines, with no worries in the world.

Ha! the list went on. But then we all agreed our lives were fuller despite all that. It was simply a rite of passage. We each admitted to feeling lonely and incomplete on the rare times we found ourselves out without our numero uno handbags 🤣. We all do the best we can, go by our intuitions, pray for them, watch out for them and soldier on. 

Writing on ‘Being Mum’ inspired me to interview some mothers on their experiences as expatriate mums and that was fun and enlightening interacting with more fierce Mama Tigers (smile and nod if you wear your Mama stripes proudly). So coming up is “BEING AN EXPAT MUM”. In the meantime enjoy these lyrics from N-Sync

“God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You”

Can this be true?

Tell me, can this be real?

How can I put into words what I feel?

My life was complete

I thought I was whole

Why do I feel like I’m losing control?

I never thought that love could feel like this

and you’ve changed my world with just one kiss.

How can it be that right here with me

there’s an angel?

It’s a miracle…

Your love is like a river

Peaceful and deep

Your soul is like a secret

That I never could keep

When I look into your eyes

I know that it’s true

God must have spent…

A little more time

On you…

(A little more time, yes he did baby)

In all of creation

All things great and small

You are the one that surpasses them all

More precious than

Any diamond or pearl

They broke the mold

When you came in this world

And I’m trying hard to figure out

Just how I ever did without

The warmth of your smile

The heart of a child

That’s deep inside

Leaves me purified