The three week break is over and while it had its ups and downs, there is nothing that will ever beat spending time with children. When they are not driving you crazy with their unreasonable and dramatic tantrums, they are teaching you some things about life in their innocent, non-pretentious way. As I have told you before, Kwezi is not the only child in the house. There is also Jasmine who we fondly refer to as Jazzy, who is only four months younger than Kwezi. I don’t know if such a thing exists but I always like to say that Kwezi and Jazzy knew each other before they were born. I say this because I was pregnant at the same time as Jazzy’s mother and we shared then and still a house — to this day. These girls are literally growing up together and their bond is undeniable. So what did I learn upon spending three weeks with them? One thing; I wish we loved as wholesomely and purely as children do. These two have become a team. A team that doesn’t talk properly so we sometimes struggle with some words but interestingly, these two know exactly what each mumbled word means when the other one says it. I was also intrigued that besides their sign and speech code, they are also each other’s backup plan. If, for example, Kwezi wants me to stop watching a movie and play her a cartoon on my laptop and I am ignoring her, she will try to use Jazzy to convince me. “Jazzy, mummy cartoon”. Jazzy will then in her sweetest voice try to tell me, “Mummy ‘pease ’, cartoon”. She will go on and on, repeating the request until I relent. The most interesting thing though is when I threaten to beat Jazzy. Well, Kwezi must be a veteran in this cane department because I am not ashamed to say that I sometimes give her a few lashes when she is misbehaving. However, while Kwezi knows that misbehaving sometimes earns you that punishment, she does not condone anyone beating or threatening to beat Jazzy. She will jump off the bed and menacingly stand between Jazzy and yourself and sternly tell you ‘no’. On some occasions, she will scream if need be. They are at a point where they compete about everything. I mean, everything including both sitting on their potties for long periods having long discussions that they alone can understand. Do you ever look at children and admire them for how pure their thoughts and outlook is? I only wish God could give us all an opportunity to be children a lot longer before we are plunged into the chaos of school and work schedules, stressful relationships, and my worst part; paying bills.
