(This is the final entry in a 3 part series begun on Monday)
...Kemdibe, my
better half (that says all really, and I do mean the better part). When Kemdibe, moved to New York in December 1996 to
continue her Medical Studies, she had to get stuck in and got actively involved
in running a household, managing her finances, and paying her way through a
degree education. She learnt to make sacrifices and rather than be a burden
became an asset to everyone she was involved with.
When she moved
back to Nigeria ten years later, with a barely two year old son in tow, she focused
her energies on raising our son, while managing her time and commitments. She
would travel to the States every 6 months or so and utilise her time away
working, providing much needed Nursing care in difficult and challenging
fields like Intensive Care and Substance Abuse. I remember barely weeks after
our daughter was born, she was back on her feet and in her scrubs, heading out
to catch the bus to work, to meet her patients with a smile and with the iron
will that has seen her succeed at everything she does.
Like my mother,
she typifies the expression “a hands-on” person. Soon after we returned to
Lagos after our daughter’s birth, she got her hands busy, taking her
inspiration from something she had seen from her time in the States. In late
2008/early 2009 Simply FruityTM was born from her desire to address
a niche that was going largely unserved and from her passion to promote
wellness and healthy lifestyle choices. Her business has grown incrementally
from an idea in her head to bouquets and trees in people’s homes and at their
events, to the opening of our first Simply FruityTM Shop last
September. Never one to rest on her laurels, she’s already trained her sights
on the location for our next few shop fronts, on expanding our market reach and
growing the brand.
Opening the Simply Fruity store With her human replica
With her
discovery of Life Coaching and after getting certified as a Health Coach, she is
pushing her agenda to see people live more fruitful and fulfilling lives and is
soon to be crowned Africa’s foremost Health & Wellness Evangelist. A
separate but aligned industry looms and she has developed the skills, and has
the tools to engage it and provide the service a nation so badly needs but is
yet largely ignorant of. She singlehandedly refurbished our apartment, taking
sole ownership of the Project Manager role and three years later she would do
the same at the bidding of our Landlord for our neighbour’s apartment. Her mom
says she should consider a career in interior decoration.
OluwaToyosi is mini-mummy
in every sense, but she’s also got a healthy dose of her grandmothers as source
material. A flair for fashion, a confirmed diva and a budding athlete at her
core, the world is her oyster and there is no doubt that she will achieve
whatever she sets her mind to. I keep reminding her that there is no "can’t" and
she and my son know that our family mantra as believers is, “I can do all things through Christ”. I remember she was barely two
years old when a string of beads she was playing with fell apart and suddenly
we saw her stringing the beads back with meticulous and painstaking precision. Since
then my daughter continues to astound me with her sense for the creative like
her mother and grandmother.
My little Diva (in red) Miss style-me-famous
She’s always
trying to design a new dress for her dolls, never satisfied with what they come
with out of the box. Her keenness to experiment with their hairstyles has seen
many a Barbie doll get the chop and quite a few experience a facelift beyond
what they might have bargained for! But there’s no denying that she has an eye
for beauty. She loves to read and can be found after night prayers and
goodnight kisses still reading a novel or asking for stories to fire her active
imagination.
Audrey Hepburn
2015 Jemima’s creations
She started
writing and illustrating her own book and has so far completed “Mita and the Dragon Mouse” a short
fantasy book that only a child’s imagination could conceive. I don’t know if
there is a sequel in store but I do know that she’s already working on many
more stories.
She loves art
and loves to jump and dance, when she’s not walking on her tippy toes, she’s doing cartwheels on my bed or in the family
living room. So this summer she has enrolled in a Creative Arts Camp where she
will be able to express better some of her abilities and desires, and hopefully
will receive some additional guidance as she grows to develop her God-given
talents. She is no doubt the female Michelangelo.
For the record I
also have two fantastic sisters (the
Athlete and the Communicator) who are the embodiment of intelligence, wit,
graft, dedication, diligence and strength of character. As I watch them evolve,
I take pride in seeing them become the women they were made to be and making
their mark in the world. I feel blessed to be their brother. I can only imagine
how my Father feels about his princesses.
Omobola, the Athlete Temidayo, the Communicator
These are 4
generations of strong women who can hold their own in any group in any
conversation, in any field with any man. When
will we recognise the strength of our women and start to give them the credit,
honour and responsibility that is their due? We often make light or cultural
reference to women’s innate ability to multi-task and speak of it as though it
were a useless skill that bears no place on a respectable resume. I’m certain
that if this came more naturally to men, we would wear it on our sleeves with
pride like the Congressional Medal of honour. But I realise just how amazing
women are from my direct experiences with them.
When my wife
used to frequent the States more often and leave me in charge of the house,
there were certain things that never went done even though we both agreed at
the time of her leaving that they were priorities. I could certainly blame my
inability to get them done on the fact that my job was too demanding and I had
no time. But a few months ago she travelled for a month and I decided to take
some time off work in order to be at home with the kids who were on vacation
for most of the Easter period. All through her four week long absence, I could
barely keep track of our two children, run the house, manage Simply FruityTM,
as well as meet up with the many other commitments and engagements I was
supposed to. This was largely in spite of the fact that there are two drivers
and a Nanny to make my task easier.
By the time my
wife got back, school had just resumed, so reviewing homework (which I dread)
was now part of the equation. It’s a wonder that there was any house for her to
come back to! To be honest I was actually relieved to be going back to work,
which is a cakewalk compared to the task of trying to replicate my wife. I
sincerely wonder how she does it. And to think that she’s also the fitness guru
and has just signed up for a dance class!
I was raised by
and have benefitted from the help and support of strong, proud women and I know
there are countless others like them out there either getting the job done
without taking any credit, or waiting for a helping hand, a word of recognition
or just the right timed support and encouragement to carry on being the best
they can be. I’d like to encourage everyone to spot a talent, lift them up
whenever you can and help them to bloom, to blossom and to fly. You can either
be a part of their success story or a sad footnote on their path to global
conquest and world domination; which will you choose?
I already made
my decision and I chose wisely. Now it’s your turn.
IamMaverick
© 27072015
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