MEMOIRS OF A JOURNEY TO MOTHERHOOD

-

By Prim K. Tumuramye


The nine-month journey finally came to an end. What a thrilling journey it had been. I had had my fair share of all kinds of bitter-sweet experiences every woman longs to go through in life. The morning sickness, the mood swings, the cravings and yes, the public sympathies every expectant woman gets.

'So, doctor, how will I tell that I am in real labor?' I would ask the gynaecologist at every antenatal visit.

I had heard countless tales of women that had rushed to hospital during false labor, and I did not want to fall prey to the same plight.

'When real labor comes, you do not need anyone to confirm to you that labor has set in' the doctor reassuringly always answered my question, cheekily smiling at my naivety.

The day I dreaded finally came, and yes, it could not have been anything but labor. We rushed to hospital in a bid not to waste any precious time. What began as mild contractions progressed to intense labor. The pain was unexplainable. Just like the doctor had said, I did not need any one to confirm to me that I was in labor. 

I wished I could cry my heart out because of the pain, my eyes denied me the chance to cry. Had my teary glands also been numbed by the pain? For the first time I had pain that not even tears could soothe. I writhed in pain, prayed repeatedly that this would soon come to an end.

The 8-hour labor experience did not leave me the same. It's then that I clearly understood what a mother goes through. I felt guilty and condemned for the hard episodes I sometimes made my own mother go through as she raised me up. Its then that I appreciated that indeed, nothing equalled a mother's love. Would I be as bearing and patient in raising this child? Did I wish to go through such an experience again. Countless questions run through my mind, not one of them being answered. The clock slowly ticked away like it enjoyed watching me go through this seemingly slow painful process.

Oh, how I wished I could quicken the hand of time!

Morning finally came and I had to still persevere the pain. My only concern was how much longer I had to go through this. Tick ....tack.....tick.....the clock slowly went.

Time check: 7:25am and I got a strong urge to empty my bowls.

'I want to visit the washrooms.' I called out in a groaning tone, tired from the long night's groaning and writhing.

Thank God for the medical team and hubby that never left me at any moment. 

'Just push!' I heard the doctor tell me with a smile of triumph.

 How the rest happened in a blink of an eye, God knows. The next I heard was a baby put on my chest and the mid-wife joyfully announcing that I had a baby boy.  It was an epic moment for me. How the pain disappeared immediately is a mystery that I have failed to unearth till to date.

 I had long decided that my first-born son (if I ever had one) would be called AKAMPA meaning God gave me. Undoubtedly, you are a gift from God. It is you that gave me that first time experience of being a mother. I know I have trekked this motherhood journey more than once since your birth, but your coming into the world marked a tremendous turning point in my life. The mistakes I committed in mothering you, the fears that I had as I nursed you and so many things your coming into this world opened my eyes to have not left me the same.

Amazing how the same clock seemed to tick slowly while I was in labor seems to be running so fast, you are now three years. It’s been a whole three years of thrill for us as a family. The milestones you have achieved, the joys of parenting you give us a reason to live each day that comes.

Looking back at the pain of childbirth, I realize I could go through the same pain seven-fold just to have you. You are a priceless treasure that I could not trade for anything in this world.

I bless the day I brought you forth into the world. Oh, how the month of April brings sweet memories to my mind.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SON!

©Prim K. Tumuramye

16th April 2015

Prim is a Christian, wife, mother and Communications Specialist at Compassion International. She is passionate about reading, writing, youth mentorship and intentional parenting. 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Four Decades of Life: A story of Dreams, Resilience and Hope

-
Image
Author: Prim K. Tumuramye Forty years sounded like a century back then. This year (Feb 5, 2024), I made four decades on earth and how grateful I feel. I am filled with gratitude for the journey so far trodden, through the different seasons of my life. Looking back, I can only be grateful. Born to and singlehandedly raised by a single mother, amidst great limitation yet unimaginable contentment, many a times the future looked bleak. Poverty, nowadays politely referred to as humble background robs one of choice. That is what defined my childhood. Yet, my mother dared to dream, against all odds. When ends refused to meet, mother put the chalk down, left a would be decent primary school teaching career, hitting the trenches as an amateur petty trader. Her life took another twist – mockery, lack and the hustles of searching for daily bread. And that is the life I would grow up into.  Mother seemed never undeterred by the prevailing circumstances. She had a strange confidence that everything
Read more

MORE THAN ONE THING

-
Image
  Prim Tumuramye Recently, while I made juice with my nine-year old son, he asked me a question which he has posed countless times before. ‘Mummy, when you were young, how many things did you want to become?’ he asked, intently looking at me. I did not have to give a second thought to this question. Not because of the countless times I had answered the same but rather, the fact that I could never forget my teenage career dream. When I was my son’s age, my career dreams oscillated from being a doctor to pilot and engineer. Then I grew up. As I grew up, I realized that it was not just about my fantasies; it was more about my investment into my dreams but also my natural abilities. Trying to remember all the parts of a Bunsen burner, putting into perspective the chemical formulas was not a cup of tea for me. Then came the biology practical lessons and dissecting God’s creatures like the frogs in the amphibian family. Till to date, I get goose pimples at the memory of those ugly creatu
Read more

My Fortunate friend

-
Image
 By Prim K. Tumuramye A few years ago, this young man submitted his application to my office for internship placement. Having gone through the required stages, he was offered the internship opportunity. This meant that he would work directly under my supervision. We live at a time where procrastination and laziness arguably best describe most young folks. A generation that thinks that milk comes from the fridge, not the cow and a people bitten by the ‘instant’ bug. Just as there is the magical instant coffee, this breed believes that life should only offer ‘instants. ’ From the quest for instant academic papers, instant six figure jobs to instant spouses this breed lives in denial of reality. To say that my new intern was far above the normal college intern would be an understatement. This instantly drew me to deliberately mentor him in his career journey. This was not because I too suffered from the ‘instant’ bug effects but because I know for a fact that his kind in this generation
Read more