Tea Cup ,Toiling and Family Fun

Dear Hurricane Hamza,

A carnival in Cape Town? Yes, but not some silly parade with dancers and music, an old school traditional one with rides, games and candyfloss.

It was the first of its kind in many years and we owe our fun to your relatively unspontaneous dad for deciding to check this one out with us. To our surprise, this amusement fair was absolutely dead.

Besides it lacking the usual carnival ambience that comes with crowds, strange food smells and screaming kids, our little family had an absolute blast- with no queuing for rides.

First up you and I tried the baby tea cups, but you weren’t too sure initially. After a little run around the field and a stint on the jumping castle, you were good to go for a ride with dad on the bumper cars. In true Hamza fashion, a suffered a bump on your head in a bumper crash, which you shook off without a moan or tear. The real tears started flowing when the ride was over and you weren’t ready to get off.

The tears were soon remedied with a family ride in the baby tea cups again. We really shouldn’t have all been in the one cup, but with dad’s feet practically hanging out the ride and my knees pretty much under my chin, this cozy threesome had a blast!

The good old family fun day reminded me of when I was growing up.  Although we were still very much a Tv generation, there were at least other options as well.  These days as parents we seem to have to choose between  plonking you in front of the T.V or taking you to some kind of indoor play centre where as a parent you are expected to sit and drink coffee, while the kids ‘play’.

Today was great because we all had a good time, together, with the same entertainment.

This carnival won’t be a monthly thing, or even an annual thing, but I hope that as you grow, people will continue to develop fun ways for families to connect and enjoy each other in an affordable way- that doesn’t involve a flashing screen.

Love Mom xx 

Finding Feathered Friends

Dear Hurricane Hamza,

We had a fantastic day today! Daddy took us to the World of Bird in Hout Bay and it was a jol. You have really been appreciating wildlife lately and it has gotten dad and I to go places we would always talk about going, but never do before you came along.

You’ve been talking a lot lately and it has been so rewarding to see my endless labour of flash cards start to bear fruits- but I always knew were a bright one. I’m not sure if all kids do this but it’s very cute. While you have said words like ‘dog’ and ‘duck’ amongst other things, when it comes to animals especially you prefer to use the noise they make. So a dog is a ‘woof woof’, a duck a ‘quack quack’ etc.. besides ducks, all other feathered friends tend to be grouped together under ‘ka-kah ka-ka’ or in your case it sounds more like ‘kuk’. So it would go without saying then that there was a whole lot of finger pointing and ‘kuk, kuk’ going on today.

(you liked these birds, they were weird, they are all born with a single, big leg)

I remember hating Sunday trips to places like this one as a tween and I hope things will be different with you. I love seeing you love learning and discovering new things and adore sharing this kind of day with you. You have the most adventurous and inquisitive spirit and I pray you hold on to the love of discovery as you grow in adulthood.

Love,

Mom xx     

A Spoonful Of Sugar?

Dear Hurricane Hamza,


Today you had your first chocolate milkshake. It was one of those crazy days where I was lugging you around everywhere – we have had quite a few of those lately. You were niggly and bored and I was drinking my favourite thing in the whole world, a chocolate freezo.

 I succumbed to your moaning, sat down on a bench in the middle of the Waterfront and handed you the plastic chocolate filled cup of sugary sweetness

.

For you it was love at first sip, for me it was guilt at first sip!

What will people think?

How will this affect our no sugar policy in the future?

Does this make me a weak mother?

Blah blah blah!

I had to give myself a mental slap in the face and shake myself out of my stupidy. Yes we have a no sugar policy, because of the health risks, but frankly because you are so active already you plus a sugar rush equals a disaster for all involved.

  BUT just as I was having the rough day and was craving a little happiness in a cup, so were you. After you gulped the rest of the shake down, the say seemed to get a little easier for the both us. Sure you didn’t eat your lunch and it was a bad food day all round but I don’t plan to let you make a habit of it- and sometimes we all need a little help to get through the day.

Even if it is in the form of a sugary, chocolaty drink

Love Mom

xx

Bumps, Bruises And All Things Boy

Dear Hurricane Hamza,


Today you fell! It wasn’t a normal trip or tumble, but an awful summersault off our bed that ended in what looked like a fatal landing. My heart stopped, I froze, was ice cold and could do nothing but shout, ‘Ye Allah’ (Oh God) over and over again.

Your tayta (Arabic for gran) kept calling from downstairs to check if you we were ok, but I couldn’t respond. The only way to describe it, is that for a few minutes I had died. By the time I came round- which could only have been a minute realistically, you were already over it and on to your next mission- and I was left with the scene forever imprinted in my head on  replay.

It’s a feeling I only understood after having you and one you will likely only come to know when you have children (which better not be in the next 18- 20 years), You are my everything and if anything ever happened to you, a huge chunk- if not all of me would seize to exist.

You are so young still and as everything keeps pointing out, a boy, which means I need to prepare myself for many more bumps, bruises, stiches and even broken bones. I just don’t know if I will be able to handle it.  I’m not sure if I have it in me, to be strong through all these future accidents that everyone keeps warning me about.

Your adventurous spirit and ability to get over things quickly is one of the qualities I admire- and I guess hate the most about you.  While I hope you never lose these qualities, I do hope that you can rub them off on me a little more, while we grow up together.

Love always,

Mom x

okay so the fall's bark was clearly worse than it's bite, but here is Hamza after his fall, with a nasty roasty on his nose

Playground Politics

Dear Hurricane Hamza,

Today I got to observe ( as much as a mom can) how you deal with conflict resolution for the first time. Okay, so maybe it was more like playground politics, but I was impressed with how you handled yourself.  

Saying that you have a fiery temperament, would be an understatement at the best of times, you come from pretty feisty stock so it’s understandable.  You can imagine my surprise though; when you stayed relatively cool under pressure when being confronted by two much older siblings at our local play centre. The ‘situation’ involved a teddy bear that you had in your possession (therefore rightfully yours) that a three year old girl had her eyes on. Between her and her five year old brother, you really didn’t stand a chance and I had to hold my entire being back from stepping in and saving you.

You voiced your anger and incredible displeasure with a few very loud screams while holding on to the bear with all your strength. You were overpowered and outnumbered and when you lost your final grip on that bear, the two bratty bullies were off it.

Much to your dads disapproval I don’t condone using violence to fight your battles, but I do want to you to be able to stand up for yourself and ideally not be subjected to constant bullying later in school. However, it is such an important life lesson to pick your battles.

-Which you did.  You didn’t know I had been watching and after the ordeal was over, you picked yourself off the ground, dusted off your hands and came running to me, took me by the hand and lead me to the trampoline. We finished off our play date on a high and happy note.

Life is too short to sweat the small stuff and some battles just aren’t worth fighting. Being strong physically and emotionally are important characteristics for any man to have, but without mental strength, you will always lack the intelligence to know when the right time is to walk away.

Love, your very proud, Mom

x

Introducing the Working Mom

Dear Hurricane Hamza,

Today we had one of ‘those’ days… You know the kind where mommy has to work and you are driven from pillar to post and expected to keep a smile on your face all day. You’re a trooper, always ready and armed with a friendly wave and charming grin.

I worry though, like any mom would, whether I give enough of myself to you and if one day you will resent me for working ,instead of committing my entire being to you.

I know my reservations and guilt will only get worse in a year or two when you are able to verbalize just how angry or hurt you feel, but I hope we will be able to  work through it- and that when you are a little older, you will understand why I had to work sometimes.

I also hope- and this might take a little longer- that you might be proud of me- and see how much you really mean to me- for pioneering an entire new career after your birth.

You see, even though we have bee having quite a few of ‘those’ days lately, it is still a whole lot better than if I was working for someone else, full time.

 Love, Mom x

Monkeying About

Dear Hurricane Hamza,

Sunday is my favourite day of the week. It’s the only day that your dad gets to do something cool with us. 

We visited Monkey Town, just passed Somerset West. They just opened a new market with an attached play park and live band. There was so much to do and it was a whole lot of fun.

We saw all kinds of monkeys and apes and there was one that I dare say resembled you just a little.

The market was small but great too. We had homemade Cape Chicken pies and Falafel and ate them at the play area on a large old swing bench while listening to a tolerable rock cover band- and for just a few minutes..life was still and quiet.

To end a perfect day, we rode a pony for the first time, something your dad wasn’t brave enough to do with you. I got to release the forgotten farm girl in me and school you in horse riding 101. It was a special moment for me to have the opportunity to share something with you that was a huge part of my childhood.

I would love to give you some of the innocent freedom that spending your early childhood on a rural farm gives you. When you are forced to play outside and climb trees and ride horses, life stays simple for longer.  For now though, you’re a city boy and we will have to do our best  to keep you away from the PlayStation and keep you climbing those trees.

Days spent with you and dad together are few and far between, but when they do come round, they are always memorable!