Nabubwaya Chambers was born and bred in Kenya, but is today raising her family in Texas, USA where she has been living for the last three years. She shares with us her motherhood experiences with her 14-month old son Lema.
“Our holidays were very relaxing and we got to spend some quality time as a family. Having a break from graduate school helped me play catch up too. I managed to do some baking, cleaning, organized our home, stayed in touch with friends, and watched some good movies.
We took our son Lema to Santa Land just before Christmas. We visited several places that had lots of Disney characters and Christmas scenes -filled with all things Santa. While Lema slept most of the time, Baba Lema, myself and our good friend Chep enjoyed the visit.
I also happened to watch the Kenyan New Year’s Eve concert online during the day, and when Baba Lema got home from work, we watched the ball drop in New York. We enjoyed a good dinner, dessert, and some hot chocolate as we relaxed over dinner. Nothing spells Christmas and New Year to us like a good cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter’s night. Lema managed to stay awake with us until almost 11pm before his eyes involuntarily shut down.
Back to School
I am currently preparing for the Spring semester which will be commencing in a few days. It is always exciting to anticipate new challenges for me, especially this kind of a challenge. I managed the Fall semester very well, thanks to a lot of sacrifice and a loving family that helped me through it. Lema was fantastic with showering me with smiles. Baba Lema, on the other hand, did a great job at helping me with positive criticism as he read lots of my papers. It helped me see a different point of view from my own.
Why Bother Hiding Stuff?
Lema is officially toddling and getting into everything, and by that I mean everything including all the things I think I have hidden so well. We converted his crib into a toddler bed and he wakes up every morning around 7am then walks to the door and starts calling out for mama as he bangs the door.
Also, he usually gets down on all fours and adjusts his view to uncover the hidden treasures that I think I have kept so well hidden. He then proceeds to discover what they are, pick out several books from the bookshelf, flip through some pages, and then decide it is better to drive them like his toy car instead of reading further. It is always a sight to behold but I somehow end up being the party pooper. I take the books and put them back on the shelf. The long game starts all over again. Ahhh, the joys of repetitive activities!
Resolutions for This Year
We have some resolutions as a family and hope to see them through by the end of the year. As I look at the long list resting on the desk, I am reminded that everything is possible. I will keep y’all posted on how far these resolutions go towards completion. I am looking into getting involved in the community more, especially volunteer work. There are several options on my mind so I will marinate on them and hopefully pick one soon. I did a lot of voluntary work in Kenya and I miss that so much.
Here is to wishing everyone a happy new year filled with opportunities to be a blessing to someone.
*You can read more of Nabubwaya’s posts here.
