10 Things I Love About My Mother

How many of you like me had rocky relationships with your mum growing up?

Boy! I thought she hated me! But as I have grown older (and hopefully, a little wiser) I have come to understand so much about her, the premises of our past misunderstandings and her undying love for her husband (my father), me, my brothers and their families.

My mum bought me my first guitar when I was 19 years old, on HER birthday because she said she always wanted to play the guitar but couldn't so, my wanting to learn gave her as much joy as she would have if she could play it herself.

Most of my life, mum dressed me up until I left home for good but she still insists on having a seamstress sew me something 'respectable' with 'Ankara' now and again, and have it posted to me from Nigeria to the UK.

My mum is super innovative and comes up with the most interesting solutions. For example, she has shown me how to use a brooch to replace a missing button on my outfits when not much else can be done about it especially, when there comes the challenge of time constraints.

My mum is the queen of DIY, and showed me everything from steaming my hair at home to having a vegetable garden to save on buying cooking herbs. I haven't found any thyme or curry leaves as fresh smelling as the ones she grows in her back garden anywhere in the world that I've ever been.

I would be lying if I said I appreciated her fashion sense where I am concerned, but these days I don't mind because what matters most to me is that she cares enough to still want to 'dress me up'.

My mother is a really good teacher. I still remember songs she taught me growing up like, the songs from 'The King and I' and many others. She has taught me that singing can drive fear and most problems.

My mum can drive any vehicle be it a regular car, bus, truck, van...anything! Just name it! I bet she could fly a plane if she had to!

Now, It's Mother's Day again and I don't know what to do to show her how much I love her enough, especially with the distance of living countries apart from each other for the last seven years.

I look forward to giving her a long, big hug soon when she comes to visit with dad but until then, I wrote a list of the 10 things I love so much about her;

1. Her Smile;

My mum has a smile that can light up a city. Sometimes she does not even realise she is smiling because she does so all the time.

She is a beautiful woman naturally but with the smile added up, she'll leave you smitten. Is it any wonder my dad fell in love with her?

2. Her Sense of Humor;

My mum has always been a master of finding something to laugh about in any situation. She didn't have the best times growing up but she still musters up funny stories to tell about those days and her family till this day.

Her sense of humor can be quite raw and savagely expressed but it will have you rolling over in laughter. Perhaps in my next article I might feature some of her best jokes but for now, let's focus on the amazing person she is instead.

3. She is such a Morning Person;

For as long as I remember, every morning we woke growing up the first thing we heard was my mum singing. And even though I don't live at home anymore, my dad confirms that she still wakes up to the start of the day with a song.

I never met anyone who enjoys the morning and waking up to it like my mother does. It's a joy to behold! She brings a ray of sunshine with that morning song everyday regardless of how upset she was the night before. And the joy she greets the day with tends to set a precedence of positivity not just for her but for the whole family for the remaining course of the day. She truly is a giant beam of sunshine.

4. She is a Terrible Liar;

No one sucks at telling lies more than my mum. She can't help but tell the truth.

This off course means she has a strong opinion about most things. But whose mother doesn't?

5. Her Love for my Dad;

I've seen my mum verbally take on someone for disrespecting my dad. It was like a mother bear pouncing on a human trying to pet her young.

My dad being the occasional silent devil (bless his heart) quite enjoyed the action as was seen by the sinister smile on his face. He made no attempt to stop her until the culprit vehemently apologised and made a move on.

My father trusts my mother with everything because he knows she will "take care of it", and like the hero he is, provides her the means with which she can do this every time.

6. Her 'No Half-Measures' attitude;

One instance where my mum showed this trait was many years ago when we had a cultural day in primary school. I must have been about 7 or 8 years old and we all had to come to school dressed up in our traditional attire for the tribes we belong to. Everyone had their outfits in their bags but I touched down from my mummy's car fully kitted up! I wanted to run back into the car but she would not have it and insisted I proudly go in like that. As far as she was concerned, I was the sensible one and the other children where idiots for not following the memo correctly.

7. She's a Warrior!

There are times she had to fight so we could be happy as a family. She has been an incredible support system to my dad in his daily life and business running his hospital and their home. With a teacher training degree, and a master's in personnel management she singlehandedly manages his staff, hospital administration, and the daily running of her home ( even having time for her grandkids as well as the orphanage and NGO she and dad started over a decade ago).

8. She loves Hard!

By now you must know that my mother loves to give. She loves to give her time and she loves to help anyway she can.

She and dad have a poultry with such healthy chickens who lay the fattest eggs. They can't eat them all so they are always crates of eggs to family and friends.

Giving is her love language.

I don't like to think of the times I took her giving for granted and I hope that by next mother's day I can spoil her with a gift that sums up all the many years of her giving to me and the rest of our family.

9. Her cooking trumps every other mother's cooking in the world;

My mum can cook the sweetest feast in the shortest time!

She can make the best meal with nothing at all.

My mum is a food genie! No chef in the world can do what she does in the kitchen.

10. She has excellent aim (for throwing the slipper);

Maybe only those with African or Carribean mothers will understand this statement.

But it's that perfect aim that honed most of the common sense I have today!

Well there's more than ten things I love about my mother that I have mentioned and there is so much more than words can justly describe accurately enough.

So, cheers to my super incredible mama on every day and Mother's Day!