I consider myself very fortunate to have had two mothers, and the memories I made with them are all very beautiful.
I was born into my mother's embrace, nourished with her love, laughter, and lullabies, my first home, my first protector, and the earliest memories of her hands that were soft and gentle, always holding me close. I was my mother's world, I remember, but life had other plans.
It was shortly after my sixth year birthday, I was down with a mysterious illness that defied all known remedies and almost took my life. Through divination, it was "discovered" that I was "Iweka," reincarnation of my great-grandmother.
Iweka had only one child, who happened to be my grandmother, "Ekawunwa." She had spent her last moments vowing to always be with her daughter and that no distance would be able to separate them. Since she is believed to be me now, the spirits would not allow me to stay apart from my grandmother.
My prolonged illness, according to the elders, was the spirits' way of ensuring that I find my way back to her. I had moved in with grandmother at age seven, having come out of my mother's cocoon a bit too early, I was thrust into the care of my grandmother. Superstitious or not, I recovered almost instantly and never fell ill again. Grandma and I loved each so much so it was a seamless transition for me.
Grandma was different. Where my mother showed tenderness, Grandma applied firmness. Where my mother comforted, Grandma taught me. Her wrinkled hands calloused from years of farming became my guide. She was wise and strong, a pillar and a rock, it was from the sun's rising and not earlier than the moon's ascent did she begin and end each day.
She gave me nuggets of wisdom on how to be patient and resilient. Proverbs was her way of communicating some hidden truths to me. I missed my mother, but Grandma filled that void with folktales, great lessons, and unshakable love which carried me through childhood and well into adulthood. She made me rise with determination, grind with dignity, and rest with gratitude.
All considered, I must be one of the few lucky beings in this life. Two of the greatest women adored me. One showered me with sweetness like every new day, while the other gave strength nurtured over ages, like an old oak. They loved, not competing; both were halves of a whole, thus fulfilling whatever the other could not.
One was my mother; the other moulded me into a mother. One gave me life; the other kneaded it into its proper shape. One sowed the seed; the other nurtured it to bloom.
Today, as an adult, I carry both of them within me. My mother’s kindness tempers my words, and my grandmother’s resilience made my steps sturdy. The love of two mothers shaped me, and for that, I am forever grateful.
Again I would say that I am indeed very fortunate to have had the best of both worlds!!!
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