Women make the impossible possible

CHANDAPIWA BAPUTAKI
Staff Writer | Tuesday March 8, 2011 00:00

 

Many of the male species would fail dismally at this job. Having children is the most joyful thing that can happen to any woman but one of the most taxing jobs anyone can ever land. Having a hectic, challenging career that takes you away from your family 75 percent of the time cannot be but a daunting job. 

Throughout the centuries there were women who took first steps down new roads armed with nothing but their own vision, says poet Ayn Rand and how true. I have come to realise that this is very true for every woman out there, that there is nothing impossible. Women make the impossible possible.

Every woman out there is a super heroin in her own little way. It does not matter how big one's dreams are but it is executing them to become a reality that is more important. I have always wondered how my mother managed as she was unemployed from the time I was barely out of my teens, after our father died in 1993 to the day she passed away in 2003, God bless their souls. When I was 10-18 years I never bothered to ask her how she made ends meet except that we never went to sleep on empty stomachs.

We had a roof over our heads, had food, had good clothes and some of the things that some of the children in our village wished they had. We were not rich but comfortable.

Our parents gave something in abundance and that was love, they taught us to be humble and not to look down on those people who could not afford what we had. That has stuck in my mind.

Looking back now I realise that no matter what situation a woman finds herself in she always triumphs. It has not been an easy road for me as a young, single mother. I have learnt that my children are my priority and I go all out of my way to make their lives comfortable, not to give them much that I cannot afford but to give them what I have in abundance, that is so much love in my heart for them.

But you see, being a young working mother has had its disadvantages for me. When my house helper abandoned me in the middle of the school term, I had to get my little daughter to school when she was two years.

It was a heart- breaking experience for me, as I was not prepared to leave her at school at that age. But I had to put food on the table for her and that was the only solution at the time, a solution that we never got to regret.

I did not want to be always complaining about not getting a helper and be known for asking for days off to look after my child rather than be known for the good stories.

The bad part is that I have become known for bolting out of the office as soon as I get bad news that one of my daughters is not feeling well.  Being a journalist is the most hectic job. Deadlines are not easy to meet when one has children at the back of their minds. I have worked so many weekends and at one point realised that I was not spending enough time with the children.

There was no way out, I had to be the best I could be as a journalist, create that brand for myself and had to attend events after hours to network, which I could not do always. Of course, I have managed to be the best in writing education news that I won two MISA awards amid all these troubles.

I had to find a solution to divide my time between my work and my family. I do not attend many after hours events, I hardly go out partying with my friends and if I do I have to be home early, I have now spared Sundays to be my time at home and I NEVER plan anything on this day. Maybe I should try to wake up early and go to church with the children who never fail to make it to church.

This is embarrassing for me to say. I have to admit I have been to hell and back and wonder what other young working mothers are going through and how they are coping. During a leadership course that I took last year I learnt that there is no easy job. It was up to me to juggle my time between everything I wanted to do.

Together with other women we were taught that it was possible for us to be good mothers, good partners, good career women and good friends. I realised that one cannot be a successful career woman by concentrating on their careers and neglecting the other equally important aspects of health, wealth, leisure, spiritual, mental, charity, and family.

I strongly believe that even though I am still a work in progress, my wheel of life is on point. As we celebrate Women's Day this year, let's take time to remember those women who are struggling to put bread on the tables, those women who are raped by their partners, those who are suffering in domestic abuse in silence and going about with a smile on their faces.

Let's remember those women who struggled very hard to fend for their children and educate them only for them to abandon them when they got wealthy and their lifestyles no longer match their backgrounds.

Let's remember those women who were denied the chance to go to school by their guardians because they wanted them to assist in their homes. Let's raise our hands to celebrate the women who under whatever circumstances made it through harsh conditions, harsh situations, went through hell and emerged successful.

You hit a woman you hit a rock. Women stand up and ask the men what they would do if they found themselves in your shoes?