Dear You,

Dear You,

It’s fine.

Scratch that.

It’s very okay not to learn new skills these confusing times.
Truth be told we all just want to survive first (Dear motivational speakers, can we breathe? Thank you!)

We are worried sick about the increasing rise in numbers of infections, our health, our family, kids, friends and other loved ones.

Please do not let the noise of the world make you feel less ambitious or lazy.

Look at you!

You are alive, well and keeping it together through the whole uncertainty.

Dear motivational speakers, you see, what many of us have been desperately trying to do aside staying alive and healthy is combining working from home with homeschooling (Hola Teachers!), cooking, home management, entertaining the kids, reading to them, stopping them from fighting about 10 million times a day, worrying about how home supplies and food keeps finishing….

Some of us are worried about money; our salaries, our jobs, our businesses…

Oh! PHCN isn’t helping too and data companies won’t let us breathe.

This is hard.

Full stop.

So you see, we don’t not lack discipline, it is just what it is.

Dear You, if you come out of this with your sanity, you are a winner!

Cheers to that!
Omotayo

 

**PHCN is the Nigeria body responsible for the regulation of power in Nigeria

Dear Woman, Live

What is there not to be scared about?

This thing called life is scary.

We have all at one time or the other lost good friends, being seriously heartbroken, been broke, lost opportunities, been jobless and floated through life.

Some years back, I was so heartbroken that I thought my heart would break literally. I was so pained that I became numb. Numb to myself, numb to pain, numb to life. I honestly thought I would die but I didn’t. I don’t know how but I didn’t. Whilst I did move on, my self-esteem was badly damaged. Damn! I would walk the streets and think everyone was pointing to the girl that “got dumped”. I would walk into a place and thought wow, they are staring at me with pity in their eyes.

So I ran into myself. I became antisocial and stuck with just work, church and work. On my free days, my grandma became my best friend, I would go out and buy the things I didn’t really need. I just wanted to get my mind off the worries. I felt as though there was something looming over me that wanted to cave in. Being restless gave me the opportunity to run away as fast as I could from it.

That was how I lived.

But that is not how to live.

Living begins when we make a decision to.

There is no amount of pep talk, motivational books or sessions that can make us truly live. It’s up to us.

I know sometimes you are not sure but always remember that who you choose to be, what you choose to become, how you choose to live is up to you.

It is called life and we are better off living it scared or not.

Dear Woman, Live.

#women #weareallscared #live #life

Image:www.pinterest.com

Dear Woman, Please keep walking #MondayMotivation

 

Welcome to a new week! This week, we take baby steps but we don’t stop! #winningculture #wonderwoman #women #wewin

 

All images courtesy: Pinterest

Dear Working Mum,

I know it’s tough.

It’s tough because every day is an unending race. From when you dash out of bed to waking the kids and getting them ready for school, making breakfasts, packing lunches and dropping them off and finally going off to your day job. Did I mention hubby? I know one pair of his socks or cufflinks are always missing and you have to find that too (rolls eyes)

Your day job is hard, but your home job is harder and more demanding. It doesn’t even a have a closing time, day off or holidays. You are in 24/7 even while you sleep. Yet, you are expected to always put your best foot forward in your appearances and performance. You are expected to be at your peak always.  No downtime.

I know sometimes, you just want to walk away. But then you know you can’t. No. You don’t want to. It seems like you can’t get it together.

It’s okay dear working mum.

You are not alone. Like all the beautiful working mums out there, you are strong, able, selfless and beautiful. The workforce is full of determined hardworking mamas women like you set out to provide for their families and maybe even enjoy themselves along the way. The imperfections of each day as we dance to the rhythms of the demands of motherhood make each day unique and colourful. The breast milk stain on your blouse, tripping over toys around the house, kissing them goodbye at school drop-offs, every giggle, every tiptoe not to wake a sleeping baby all make it worth it.

Your kids will never find another mum who will love them like you do. In those little eyes are faith in you and in all you do.  Your kids know you love them and they’re learning from you every day. One day they’ll know that even though you are not perfect, the best of us have flaws and all. They will learn that the journey is important than the destination and that when it comes down to it, you do it all for them.

Dear Working Mum, we are enough.

Shine on!

 

Love,

A Working Mum.

 

#motherhood #mummy #baby #workingmum

Dear Woman, Please Define Your Truth

I recently read about Chimamanda’s interview with the US 2016 Presidential Candidate, Hillary Clinton at the PEN World Voices Festival lecture.

According to Adiche, there was one thing that did bother her about the former First Lady:

In your Twitter account, the first word that describes you is ‘Wife.’ And then I think it’s ‘Mom,’ and then it’s ‘Grandmother,’

Her husband, Bill Clinton, Adichie continued, does not have “Husband” leading as his Twitter bio.

Then she said, “And when I saw that, I have to confess that I felt just a little bit upset. And then I went and I looked at your husband’s Twitter account, and the first word was not ‘husband.’

She asked to know if it was Clinton’s choice to identify first in relation to her husband, and why she chooses to if she did.

Although Clinton did have a pretty good reason why she has “wife” leading her bio, she said she would change it.

Clinton said, “When you put it like that, I’m going to change it”.

Now, I see a lot of comments berating Adiche’s line of thought but that is not the reason for this article.

I recently told a friend that I do not like the word- Feminism. The reason is this, it is easily misunderstood, abused and misconstrued.

I will rather use the word gender equality and focus on its underlining principle of the achievement of social, educational and professional opportunities equality for women and men.

Simple.

Gender Equality is a cause every man and woman should believe in and fight for. It is a cause that we should all carry in our hearts and seeks to fight for everywhere we find ourselves.

Propagators of gender equality also have a responsibility to properly educate everyone on the values entrenched in this principle.

We must make it known that gender equality ultimately seeks to make the world a better place for you and I. We must also re-echo that gender equality means earning it and fighting for it if you feel robbed especially in the work place.

I personally will not bother if I were to stand before Hillary Clinton whether “Wife” is the first word on her Twitter bio because it’s her truth. She has defined her truth in her own words irrespective of her achievements. It’s her choice.

The most important thing will be seeking to make her use her influence to make sure women and girls irrespective of race, gender, nationality, political affiliation and religion have an equal right to live, work, quality education, career and financial opportunities like their men counterparts in their various countries.

Dear Woman, being a wife or mother does not make you lesser than your male counterparts. By all means, please seek your own truth and do your best wherever you find yourself. Be smart enough to know that you are enough with or without a man. If you have a good man in your life supporting your dreams and letting you fly please, by all means, celebrate him along the journey. And if you are single please chase your dreams. Go on that dream vacation, shine in your career or business, buy that house, stand up for your self and be the reason why men will respect us women the more everywhere. Stand up for injustices and support other women.

The world will not take us seriously when we begin to trivialize the cause of gender equality. We must present our case strongly and project a united front to the world to see. When women sing the same song across continents, our voices will be louder, our message re-echoed and the world will know this cause is not a joke.

Picture Courtesy: Pinterest

#genderequality #women #HillaryClinton #Chimamanda #girlpower #twitter

Motherhood 2.0

Today has not been any different. I still feel trapped, overwhelmed and just can’t see the future. Honestly, I really want to give up. Where on earth did my dreams go? What happened to the burning desires of my heart to hit ‘em and break new grounds. What is that tight notch on my chest, invisible, yet so heavy.

So, as pregnant me sits to type this, my almost one year old won’t stop biting and tugging at me. But as much as the super Mummy in me wants to pick him up and play while we chatter in our unique language, I got to do this.

Mummy needs to hold her own. Outside being a wife, Mum, Daughter, Sister and Friend, I have got to own mine. I have to sing my own songs and dance to my tune. Yes! Some things should be all about me. I am not selfish; I only desire a better me;  for me and for all of them.

Koko keeps tugging and I don’t know what to do. Did I make a mistake? This is so crazy and everything looks impossible now. I want to cry. I want to go back in time when it was all about me but I want to take my baby Koko along. I want Bae to hold my hand right and go way back in time with me too.

A bite.

I stagger back into reality.  More days than not I wake up angry, sad, tired, and scared. My head is always swirling with their needs.  I live for them and sometimes it’s overwhelming.

Yet I can’t live without them. I spend every minute torturing myself with the thought of something happening to one of them and my heart breaks in fear as to what I’d do.

But listen. As these children use my body as soil to grow strong, they’ve given me something I wouldn’t trade for all the gold in the world. Every day as I rise from the previous day’s ashes, I’m introduced to a better version of myself.

Oh!  My eight teeth miracle’s smile melts my heart. When I see Bae cuddle Koko, I know I made the best decision ever.

I look back again to back in time and I shut the door permanently.

Who knew I had so much love in my heart? Who knew I could see, feel, touch and kiss love?  Who knew I could stretch this far, endure so much and still keep it all together( ok I confess, not every time)

I will it all again at the drop of a hat. Who knew I could juggle five things at the same time? Who knew my intuition could be so sharp?

 

Every time I hear my Koko laugh, smile or watch him sleep, I am filled with so much love that words can’t describe. I am reminded that this lifelong job of being a Mum is the highest and noblest work in the world and I am privileged to get an offer through my little miracle.

 

I will enjoy and treasure every moment. Every puke, smile, slap(sad face), bite, kiss and hug because there is no way to be a perfect mother but a million ways to be a good one.

Welcome to Motherhood.

#motherhood #koko #dabi #family #mytostos #love #iwilldoanythingforthem

 

Happy New Month!

Source: Google Images

What To Wear To The Aquafina Elite Look Nigeria 5

What To Wear To The Aquafina Elite Look Nigeria 4

What To Wear To The Aquafina Elite Look Nigeria 3