Dear child,
This is your beloved mother extending her wisdom or cruel experience to you. One of your aunties has the habit of using the phrase "growing up is a trap" and over the last few years,I think we are beginning to think alike.
You will be carried in my womb for nine months, and while in there I urge you to enjoy yourself, because the real world is crazy. You are going to learn to breathe on your own, cry when you want to be breastfed and basically for a while crying is going to be your only form of communication. I am certain on some days I will want to just relax and you are crying and knowing me,we might both end up crying.
You are going to be anxious to walk, in a bid to be self independent, and that is when things get a little interesting for you.As soon you you start to walk, no one will carry you as much. TRUST ME when, I say you are going to miss it.
Then you will want to go to school so badly, and I will be worried about you being bullied, falling in the field, and so forth but after a few falls and bruises we will all get over it and soon showing mummy the scratch won't get you much empathy.
There is a bubble of joy in every child when they start school, and my love enjoy the days of reciting the alphabet , doodling and singing rhymes. Things get real as you progress and soon you will be reciting chemistry periodic tables, cramming weird color changes and reactions in chemistry labs. There will be critical grammatical days in English that will determine the difference between a D1 and D2 and allow me tell you grades matter. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.
The child with good grades , gets a copious amount of pocket money, and tends to be mummy and daddy's child.
You will hate being dependent on me during your teenage years. You will say things like, "when I grow up". When this stage happens, Stop and start to enjoy being dependent, having someone to provide you pocket money, someone to discipline you and yell at you, someone who in a bid to show you they love you will embarrass you.( happens a lot to mothers I can't think I will be any different.)
ENJOY having a structure in your life and someone to account to.
Soon enough you won't need mummy as much, or so you think.! You will go to campus and enjoy, setting your own rules, being a rebel and cutting a few lectures, until it starts to reflect in your GPA and you will be afraid of bad grades, which lead to a mediocre job and finally an average life, which is very far from your dreams as a ten year old child.
Soon enough you will be out of campus and with a job, and you can purchase ,the shoes you dream of and so forth.
A reminder: While you dream as an ten yr old about living in a dream house, you might consider dreaming about the rent and utilities,because, when you start paying for rent, water, electricity,the government is taking off its taxes, KCCA as well, and you finally look at you paycheck and think what happened to all the money.
That is the moment you will remember how nice it was that mummy and daddy paid all the bills and still gave you pocket money when you are still at home.
You will want to continue with school and no more money from the parents to further your education, so you have three options either fund yourself back to school, company you are working for also funds ( but usually with very stringent stipulations) or get a scholarship... ( See how the grades matter?)
But life is not all bad , its a rosy garden. sweet smelling garden that is optically nutritional but thorny. You will make crap decisions at times and want the ground to swallow you. You will lose a great number of friends for various reasons. You will not have as much time for family as you hoped and a host of other things
.
Its actually fun as well, learning to do things on your own, paying your first bill ! making savings ( this one is very important), and just finding your way in the world. I know you will be a tough cookie, one who takes everything in stride and learns from her mistakes to make better choices. I can't always shield you from the world and its dangers,and that's the beauty of growing up. mustering the guts, to stand on your own two feet and relishing it.
My Most Important advise would be to stand with God, your mother doesn't know it all, and I am certain there are days the level of crapiness in the world will be overwhelming. Stand with God. He got this. I hope in my duty as your mother , I will instill loving God in you from day one.
I love you lots and maybe the next letter , will be when Mr. right is here and I will be giving you dating and marriage tips.Or the letter could be sooner, something might grab my attention and KNOWING how risk averse I am. I will want to warn you in advance.
Mummy loves you lots and enjoy not being here yet.
x
