This week, I packed up some of Kwezi’s clothes and other essentials and ‘shipped’ her off to her grandparents’ house. While she hadn’t visited them in a while and I was running out of excuses (which were flimsy), I also had my own selfish reasons why this visit is important. If you have been reading ‘Kwezi and I’, you surely must remember how many times I have said that this girl’s appetite is a must have for all children. If it’s edible, then she eats it. I saw her potential of being a foodie when she was barely two years old and was wolfing down handfuls of beans and posho.

Well, it looks like I celebrated too early. For the past few weeks, Kwezi can’t touch her food. In fact, she sometimes looks like she can’t even stand the ‘smell’. I have dewormed her but nothing has changed. She has lost so much weight in a very short time and because she is really tall, she looks unhealthy and it’s breaking my heart. So I came up with a plan.

Well, most people who grew up in Africa and were lucky to have their grandparents at the time will understand this story better. The struggle of early mornings and late evenings on school days used to leave most of us really thin. So during the holidays, your mother would ‘pack you up’ and send you to your grandmother’s house to ‘gain weight’. I was recently telling my friends that you would leave your parents’ house looking like a weaverbird and come back the size of an eagle. Well, long story, I hope that in the next few weeks, maybe a change in scenery will do miracles. So far, my mother says that nothing has changed but she has some ideas and I trust her to fix this.

Do I miss my daughter? Absolutely. My side of the house is really silent. I keep walking into her room, drawing a curtain, picking up a toy here and there and I will not give in and go get her till we get to the bottom of this.

On the other hand, I am also enjoying some me time and the stillness of the house. I continue to keep up with her from the photos and videos my siblings are sending me.

I have always loved chubby babies and until Kwezi gets her appetite and weight back, I will not rest.