I am finally going for leave and I am excited beyond word. I last went on leave in June last year and I have been feeling exhausted and not motivated to go to work. Everyone needs a break and my time to require one has arrived so for the next two weeks, I will do nothing work related.

I am not like most people so there is no definite, well laid out plan on what I am going to do. I sometimes wish I was that kind of woman but I am not. I have however had so much fun being spontaneous. Waking up and packing up Kwezi and hitting Musanze sounds like fun.

I discovered a while back that besides sleeping and cartoons, Kwezi really enjoys swimming. She wakes up so early and goes straight to her wardrobe where she pulls out her swimsuit and wakes me up "Mummy, Swim,”.  I have to explain to someone whose brain is yet to grasp the idea of weather patterns that a) you cannot swim when it’s raining cats and dogs, and b) you cannot swim when you have a cold. She always looks at me in confusion, throws the costume on the floor and walks away in what I have come to assume is protest. I am praying that during this break, I can take her for a swim on one of the clear sky days. The issue that we usually have with Kwezi is that she loves the pool so much that a great day is usually ruined by her loud screams and sad puppy eyes when it’s time to call it a day but that is a small price to pay for a toddler’s squeals of delight.

I don’t really know if I remember anything from when I was three years old but I do remember my mornings and my mother’s pancakes as she packed for me to go to kindergarten in our neighbourhood. I was five years old. Three decades later, I still remember the aroma from that kitchen, I recall the anticipation that I would have as I waited for break time so that I could wolf down the pancakes. I always thought and thankfully, I still think that my mother is the best cook in the world. I have never seen anything that she has attempted to make backfire yet I have never seen her watch a cooking show or read a recipe book.

I have been thinking of the best way to start making lasting memories with Kwezi.  I would like her to enjoy memories with me the same way I have enjoyed memories with my mother. I am yet to figure out how to do that, but if my upbringing is anything to go by, then the memories can be made from home.  These two weeks are going to be dedicated to just that, so help me God.