In the north, we grow up calling our mothers “mama”. Whenever you walk through a neighborhood or step into a home, the familiar name you hear is “Mama”. The sound of a mother’s voice is a lifesaver when you are called for a good meal and when you know she has a surprise for you, or frightening when you have been stubborn and you know you will surely get some whopping. Our mothers have to be the best humans on earth alongside our fathers. Right from conception to the time we watch them grow grey and old and all we wish for them is happiness.

There was a time in my final year in high school when our literature teacher asked us to write a heroic poem about our mothers, the next morning I was thrilled by what my eyes read, everyone outlined how much of a hero their mothers were. But the strange thing was that I couldn’t write a single word on my paper, this may sound phony but yes my paper was blank, it only had the question on it.

My mother is a lot that a piece of paper cannot quantify, I had so much to write about my mum that I did not know where to begin, even if I tried to, the tears in my eyes would wet the piece of paper that I will have to get another one all over again and again. The lines of a poem cannot justify who my mother is. Proverbs 31 woman lives right through my mother, she is a perfect gift from God to me and my family. And when I reflect on my life, I see how much impact she makes onin me.

I remember those days she’d held me and my sisters firmly to make sure we got schooled because she knew how good was the best, she gave us all she had, her strength, love, and every single dime. Growing up I watched Mama work hard under the harsh sun and in the cold nights, relentlessly trying her best to see that a day doesn’t pass us by without a meal. Sometimes when I look through her eyes, I see so much love, selflessness, passion, and empathy.

Mama gave up her dreams so that we all could dream because our dreams had always been her biggest dream. She is not perfect, but she tries her best. Nagode mama (thank you, mother). Words are not enough to tell all that you mean to me, because you mean the world to me.