Mother's Day Reflections

So...

It says it's Mother's Day on the Malawi Calendar. I have been thinking about what was circling in the mind of the one who proposed this holiday. Unlike some of those half relevant holidays we have in January and in March, I think this one makes more sense. Mothers need to be celebrated. Well. Some mothers.

The discussion as to how important a mother is to one's life is not relevant. Many would tell you as to how much their mothers are their heroines taking it from the input and investment in their lives. Perhaps those efforts are overlooked as we all just dismiss it with the feeling that it is every parent's duty to take care of their child. Recent observations, however, have shown me that it is not every mother who has that tender and caring touch.

A couple of months ago I happened to be walking home from work when I saw a woman with a baby on her back. As this woman was continuing with her journey (along the road near where I was putting up), she tripped and fell. Immediately my doctor instincts kicked in and I went over to check on her. In as much as she was still struggling to get to her feet, the face she made and the incomprehensible words she uttered gave me a clear impression that my helping hand was not welcome. I left.  Sitikakamiza zinazi. Moments later I heard some noise and when I peeped through the window I noticed that people had gathered around the woman. From what they were saying, she had made a name out of her habit of going on drinking sprees with her baby. To those who knew her, this wasn't the first time she had been found off her feet with her baby on her back. I had missed the fact that she was drunk from our short encounter. While some men were slapping her, there were some women who were helping her unbundle her baby while some were proposing that they take the baby away from her as she did not have a motherly character. It is such encounters that make me appreciate the role our good mothers have played in our lives. I do not think that there are too many mothers who have gone too wayward with negligence of their children. In as much as these scences do pop up once in a while, our mothers are generally disciplined and they raise us into the good Richie Online patrons we are (if you get these articles it means you have made it in life, by the way).

We have been granted the opportunity to celebrate with our mothers. Our presence would probably be of value to the ones who raised us on a day such as this.

I happened to be listening to a radio program and some random human was giving a recommendation of how we ought to celebrate Mother's Days. He said it was a day for parent child interaction; a day in which children out to spend their time with their parents. He also said it is the ideal day for reconciliation between parents and children should there be squabbles. I liked the latter because it is a rare and useful piece of wisdom. I mean... we have heard these other things of buying them zitenje for a long time. It's almost a reflexive tout that everyone says year in year out.


More often than not, I am bothered by the question of whether we should also count fathers in on this day. My old man has at some point asked me what I was planning for him "pa tsiku la anakubala" only for me to see him buy my mum some Mother's Day chitenje. Confusing, right? We should probably have a public holiday in honor of fathers, a day on which we can buy our fathers some Nigerian outfits which we will be unveiling over a casket of wine or veremuti la kachasu. That could help with the confusion. As it stands, we can freestyle through this and deal with the parents as we see fit.

I do hope that those of you who are posting pictures of your parents on Whatsapp spent some time with them today. The benefits of doing that do outweigh the costs. I am heading to my parents' as I type this. I am almost empty handed but I will go back to Mandala with some goodies, having left some happy parents at home. Kuba, right?

If you are to ask me, a millennial, I would tell you that makolo asamaphweketse. Tikawatengera zinthu kumene.

My boss at work once asked me as to who would take care of me if I got seriously sick. The question reminded me of how my parents took care of me when I was down with malaria a few months before. It was my mum who spent that night on the bedside. We laughed at the whole thing and my boss ended up telling that it was time for me to marry. What I learnt? Parents will be parents, whatever level you are at.

It's a day to celebrate with parents, but at the end of the day every day should be Mother's Day. Celebrating with parents should be done but not be limited to this day.

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers... and of course to all mothers to be.