To My Lovely Daughter on Her 5th Birthday Five years ago today, I was in the throes of contractions and non-medicated labor pains. When you arrived, you had a perfectly shaped head, kissable lips, a sprinkling of fuzzy blonde hair, and your mama’s brown eyes. You were my firstborn, my baby who made my heart feel a fullness that I didn’t know was missing. You are the one that gave me a name (parent) and I say a big thank you Carol. You were a baby then, and today you are a big five year-old girl. I cannot believe it’s been five years down the line. You’ve changed so much, and we’ve had so many changes as a family, but through it all, your smile has always lit the way for all of us. I can barely remember those first four terribly colicky months when youd cry at night immediately it clocked 12.00 midnight and couldn’t go back to sleep until 6.00 in the morning. I do remember one night, you cried non-stop and I sang every song I could think of; lullaby, Christmas tunes, and patriotic melodies– to help ease your tears. When you could sit up by yourself, you walked holding tight on to the table. You’d shake rattles and that Buzz the Bee toy you loved, and I’d lean down next to you, tickling your toes with weeds and eventually spoon-feeding you in the breeze. When you were 8 months old, I would teach you how to walk by yourself at your daddy’s place of work. You’d keep calling your dad (baabaa) and later called me for the first time mummy. You loved listening to music, and till today you enjoy dancing a lot, no song can go unaccompanied with a dance. All of this time before age 3–I’m sad that you won’t actually remember, but I know it formed the foundation of who you are and who WE are. When you were two years and five months old, life as you knew it changed. I want you to remember you kept saying ABC’s and wanted to go to school. I want you to remember how much you love to meet new people, how you love to learn new words (i.e. Kikuyu), and how you crawl in my bed to wake me up in the morning to prepare you for school. I want you to remember how teasing you have become of late that you keep lying to us (daddy and I) then you say (kaa rada, kaa rada). I want you to remember how you kept telling us sasa mummy, sasa daddy and then you would tell us to say them same to you “niambie sasa” But most of all, I want you to know, deep down, how much Daddy and I love and admire the kind-hearted, adventurous, inquisitive, fun-loving, empathetic and responsible girl you’ve grown into that you know how to save your money. I tell you every night and I mean it: you are the love of our life. And no matter how big you get, you’ll always be our baby. Happy 5th Birthday, my lovely Carol, and may God shower you with blessings, full of joy and favour. May you grow up to be a God fearing lady to celebrate many more years to come. Love you always, Mama
Posted on: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 17:04:37 +0000