The women in my life

Whitney Huston sang l am every women it’s all in me, while Maya Angelo said l come as one but l stand as 10 000 ,this all to say women are a force ,l am not in any way here to jab at men or criticise them not at all. I am a firm believer that it takes a village to raise an African child and in that village there are men too. Today l just want to honour the women in my life who bring out all different sides of me ,the calm, the crazy ,the fun ,hilarious ,the well-mannered and the confident me.

The well-mannered me

There is a group of women who have taught me Ubuntu, in Ndebele we say isigogo sigoqwa sisemanzi (simply means a child is trained at a very young age).These are my mothers, as a true African child l am, it did take a village groom and nature me.There is my biological mommy whom l did not only take after physically, but she taught me to be calm no matter the situation (that principle sometimes goes out the window m sure you understand mommy).

Then comes my other mommy she taught me how to cook, bath twice a day (which l honestly did not like) and to basically keep myself clean and tidy. She ignited my love for reading, while my lovely cousin cemented it.She would get me the coolest novels that would transport me all over Africa. Then come my darling aunties. The older one (mafungaswe wami) taught me class and how to take care of your stuff. That women has a stove older than me and it functions perfectly well, while my Mlungu(she calls me khiwa) taught me when it comes to business do not put too much emotion into business learn from your mistake quickly and move on. To my cousins who are like my big sisters, my many mothers you truly have played tremendous role in grooming me.

The Calm me

There are times when l am calm and this is thanx to a few individuals who manage to term the lion in me. My dear sisi, she is cool and calm as cucumber, she is younger but loaded with a lot of wisdom. She is truly a blessing like her name (always keen to try new things). Then come my lovely lawyer (yes l have a lawyer so tread with caution).l can see her roll her eyes we still working out some kinks, she is calm a voice of reason. How can l forget my Pamela the very soft spoken one she gets me thinking deep challenges my views of the world (honestly have never heard her raise her voice).Zinny asks the most deep questions about the world (l will be sitting thinking l should have missed a few classes in school, they clearly did not teach me this), but we usually we digest it over food after all she is my food buddy.

The crazy, fun, amusing me

These are the girl’s l call to have a good time, starting with my very own sisters. You do not want to sit next to these girls at a function because Abbie will say something inappropriate and leave you laughing while she has a straight face (l mean who does that) or simply tell you your outfit is horrible in the most outrageous way yet somehow you do not get offended (it’s a gift l tell you). Here comes makoti, very bubbly and feisty .She knows how to keep a conversation going, she will keep you on the phone for 2hours lol. (You get the picture ne)

You have to love my personal fanaan ,this one has lived 9 lives like a cat for someone her age (her experiences are older than me , do not ask me to balance the maths ).She always promises to hit people that do not behave properly (if she has hit anyone we are yet to find out yet somehow l feel so safe when she makes those threats).My rich wife this one is the party ,good time is her middle name. She takes my ideas seriously and she is the type that if we slept egangeni lol, she would make it into an adventure after all she is the wild animal whisper .Careful she makes good on her threats.

My lilibeth,the one that got me hooked on Grey’s Anatomy (while l busy with assignments) and we all know how interesting a series is knowing fully well you have an assignment due tomorrow. I have many sisters who l have adopted throughout my journey of life, they vibrant, loud funny some calm (they surely have taught me a lot from style to lingo yama 2k).You guys make life colourful

The confident me

To the women who have inspired me to stand up for myself, by sharing their own journeys in their careers like my twin, to the ladies that make big boss moves in their careers like Dr mommy. They have truly inspired me to be confident in my choices and the decisions l make.

To all these women, THANK YOU for the role you have all played. You are truly one of a kind remarkable, a force of nature.Ngibonga ngingaqedi