*Steemit Engagement Challenge S6/W1 - *The Joy Of Parenthood"

^{My joy, my everything!}

It is a joyful thing for parents to welcome their kids into the world and this for sure brings untold joy and happiness

Joy and happiness! Are these not the two things that we all strive for?

UNTOLD, is the word that brings me to my story today.

Long, long ago I was one of those who said I never want children. Not that I could not have children, I just didn’t want any. Kids for me was seen as a burden. That one thing that will hold me back in life.

I would rather play with the boys, go to the army one day, and travel the world.

LOVE was the first thing that knocked on my door, totally unexpected. Within six months I was married. Married on one condition, no children. That one condition became a nightmare. I fell pregnant.

I was shocked! How could it be? This cannot be happening to me. I don’t want children. I have not even held a baby. I played with cars and not dolls.

I could not lift my head in the mornings.

How can they say that being pregnant is awesome when you have to run to the bathroom every half an hour?

How can they say that being pregnant is beautiful when you start seeing stretch marks and a tummy getting bigger?

How can they say pregnancy is special when they dress you up as a big baby at your baby shower party?

On a Friday the 13th a baby boy was placed in my arms.

UNTOLD! Why was I never told about the immense joy you experience in becoming a parent?

It shocked me to the core as the lioness inside me came alive. I would not let go. Not one nurse could convince me that they must take the baby away for that first weigh and bath. I did not let go. I weigh him and I gave him his first bath. He slept with me in my bed as I was too scared of who might be wandering in the corridors of the hospital.

I didn’t want to close my eyes. All I wanted to do was to stare at his little face, hold his hand and cuddle him. I found myself opening the blankets and staring at his tiny body. Perfect!

I’ve discovered the joy and happiness of becoming a parent!

Best of all I discovered it anew when my second baby was born on Christmas day.

The tiniest little baby girl I’ve ever seen weighing only 1,3 kilograms.

I was now a lioness and tigress.

Millions of moms will say, “My kids are my everything”. I am proud to admit that I am one of them.

The responsibilities

UNTOLD! to me was also the responsibility of parenthood. I had to discover and I had learned that with parenthood comes responsibilities and I went to great lengths to make sure that I succeed in these responsibilities.

Responsibilities that I can classify into 5 groups.

1. ENSURE: I had to ensure that my children are being taken care of

2. PROVIDE: I had to provide for my children

3. INAUGURATE: I had to inaugurate and maintain a good upbringing for my children

4. LISTEN: I had to listen to my children

5. ENCOURAGE: I had to encourage my children to do their best at all times

Responsibilities that gave me great joy to fulfill and prompt me to do anything for my children.

720 Kilometers I traveled in one morning just to cover my son’s books for him and to put food for him on his hostel bed. Repeating this whenever he was playing a cricket or rugby match for five years.

Driving to my daughter’s hostel at 10:00 at night after receiving a call that she is hungry. Or at 2:00 in the morning to take her medicine when she was not feeling well. Again, for five years.

The joys of being a parent!

As my children grow older

Pretty soon my joys of just looking at my children when they were sleeping as little ones turned into joys of pride.

I watched them as they become young adults. Adults with dignity, humbleness, responsibilities, kindness, maturity, self-assuredness, and young adults with clear directions.

I watched them excel at school, varsity, and in life. I was there when they got married and when their kids were born. I was there to laugh with them and I was there to cry with them. All of this extends my joys of being a parent.

I can no longer get in my car and drive to care for them or just give them some mother love but I can still experience the joy of a message on my phone, a phone call, a video call, or a long email.

It gives me tremendous joy when I answer my phone or listen to my messages and there is a clip from our favorite songs;

My son: Lemon Tree song by Fools Garden

I'm sitting here in a boring room
It's just another rainy Sunday afternoon
I'm wasting my time I got nothing to do
I'm hanging around I'm waiting for you
But nothing ever happens
And I wonder
I'm driving around in my car
I'm driving too fast, I'm driving too far
I'd like to change my point of view
I feel so lonely, I'm waiting for you
But nothing ever happens
And I wonder

My daughter: Angel song by Shaggy

Girl, you're my angel, you're my darling angel
Closer than my peeps you are to me, baby
Shorty, you're my angel, you're my darling angel
Girl, you're my friend when I'm in need, lady

We’ve made vows to each other. No matter where in the world we are and no matter what time of the day when we hear our songs we will phone each other and play them.

My joy of parenthood increases day after day and they are becoming precious to me. I don’t want to miss one moment of them. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

UNTOLD to me was how the joy of parenthood can grow day after day.

The happiness I want my children to enjoy

I was blessed with two completely different children. They are so far different from each other as what A is from Z.

Each one of them has a special place in my heart. I want them to experience the same joy I experience with them in each of their children.

I want them to feel the joy when they look at their children when they are sleeping, the joy when they excel in life, and the joy when their children phone them one day.

I want them to look back in life and not think about what they have achieved in life but what they have achieved in their children.

UNTOLD the story of parenthood which has a beginning, a good story, and an unbelievable end.

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