Celebrating motherhood
Iman Sulaiman-Ibrahim , Co-Founder, The Beehive Initiative
Motherhood is one of the most divine experiences in life. I am not only privileged but so also blessed to have had an extremely stable childhood. I grew in an environment with maximum love. I can’t remember one single bad thing about my childhood and for this I am eternally grateful to Almighty God and to my parents, my late father who we just lost a few weeks ago, Engr. S K Danladi and my beloved mother Hajiya Aishatu Sulaiman Danladi.
So it’s safe to say my lessons of motherhood started when I was a child learning so much about building and nurturing lifelong relationships. My Parents gave me Love (unlimited), Roots (knowing who I am) and Wings ( to fly and sow as high as I can imagine and as big as I want to dream). These three lessons I have built upon and passed on to my children.
As we nurture this pure and powerful relationship between a mother (parent) and a child, we keep evolving and growing as a team and as individuals and we never stop to learn. A few of these lessons I will share.
FAITHFULNESS: The No 1 lesson I learnt about motherhood is complete and total devotion to the Almighty. You can’t do it alone. You must take GOD as your journey partner in building a good home and in raising great children. When you truly raise God fearing children, you have helped solve over half of the world’s problem.
EXCELLENCE: You must diligently dedicate yourself to Motherhood in an excellent manner. An excellent mother will build an excellent home and raise excellent children who will turn the world into an excellent place. It is that simple. Once the disconnect starts from within the family, it affects every facet of the society. Mediocrity has no place in motherhood.
INTEGRITY: The greatest disservice you would ever do to yourself and the society is to raise children who don’t value their words or the content of their character. Integrity is addressed in the home first and the best way to teach your children the lesson of integrity is by example.
ROLE MODEL: Whether you like it or not, a mother is every child’s no 1 role model. A child will learn more by seeing and experiencing than by being told what to do or become. Always remember that your child is watching you closely and their experience in the home will shape the person they become to large extent.
HUMILITY: The way children treat people from the chauffeur to the people you relate with tells a lot about who they are and where they are coming from. A humble child who is comfortable with their “Please” and “Thank You’s” and knows to make people feel important will go further than you can imagine.
INDIVIDUALITY: The greatest mistake any parent/ mother would make is to treat your children the same. Yes we do not discriminate generally as parents, but when it comes bringing out the best in your children, you must always remember that they are different individuals with different personality types and love languages. When you master these two, you will enhance the quality of your relationships.
QUALITY TIME: You must invest time in building the quality of relationship you desire with your children. You must spend time making memories. You must have relationship goals periodically. Life has become too fast that if you don’t make intentional commitment towards your relationship and nurturing this special bond, it is so easy to lose it’s true essence.
Finally, we must continue to hold on to the lesson of love, kindness and forgiveness, and pass it to our children from generation to generation, as this will truly make our world a better place. We owe it to ourselves.
A Very Happy Mother’s Day to all the exceptional mothers out there either by birth or by virtue. #rockthecradleruletheworld
Funto Ibuoye
Motherhood is a never ending sacrificial journey. Becoming a mother changed my life and opened me up to strengths I never knew I had. Being a young mum of two boys, sometimes it’s so tough and I just want to disappear to an island and be by myself; but the moment I travel and leave my boys, I’m missing them so much and longing to be with them again.
Motherhood is about giving whether it’s so convenient or not without expecting anything in return. I remember once I needed to retouch my hair so badly and I also needed to buy milk for my baby who’s now a toddler, usually I use Dark and Lovely kit relaxer but because I didn’t have enough funds at that time, I had to use a very cheap relaxer, not minding that it would damage my hair, just so I could buy the milk for my baby.
Motherhood is a full time job, one of the most challenging yet most fulfilling job. Yes we don’t get paid in currency, but I believe our payment would be seeing our children grow up and live right at the centre of God’s will for their lives, that is fulfilment no amount of money can ever buy. To me, motherhood is a GOLD collar job and I’m so grateful for the privilege to be called a mom.
Lola Tewe
Motherhood is a gift to me. It is an opportunity I have been entrusted with to take a seed from its small state and nurture it till it becomes its full potential.
I may not be perfect at it, but I take each day as it comes, helping my children to make the right choices, and instilling in them the right values so that they grow up into responsible adults.
Play time is learning time in the family. When we watch movies or play board games together, it is a time to correct something or learn a new skill and of course, have fun while at it. I am my children’s first cheerleader and coach. When I see that they have a skill or passion, we hone that skill until they become good at it.
Motherhood is a journey I do not wish to graduate from. It is one that I wish to be remembered for. In a nutshell, I am a mom because:
M – I help my children to MAXIMIZE their potentials
O – I help them to spot OPPORTUNITIES
M – I help them to create beautiful MEMORIES so that wherever they find themselves, they still always want to come back home.
Kemi Ajumobi