This Saturday, Iman Hannah Kwezi turns three. I have had a good time on this planet and I really cannot complain but none of it can ever compare to having my daughter.

But like you know her and I by now, her journey into this world was not short of drama. I will however spare you the details and jump to our first meeting.

I will not sit here and like most mothers tell you these elaborate stories about how the world stopped for a second when I saw my baby for the very first time. I won’t tell you how I was overcome with emotion and started crying. I won’t tell you all that because it didn’t happen like that. No.

The first meeting between Kwezi and I was brief and less theatrical. The moment I laid my eyes on her, the first thing that I saw was her jet black curly hair and I thought wow, she is actually here. Next, I noticed how chubby and tall she was. And then I turned and promptly started dozing off. In that order.

We only got to start knowing each other better when I was woken up a few seconds later to feed her. She was screaming like the world had put her in an immediate bad mood. One feeding later, we were ready to take on the world and the rest is history.

Now three years down the road, I look back at our journey and realise that the day my daughter was born, is the day I was reborn. It is the day that my life changed forever, making me 100 per cent responsible for someone else and teaching me the real meaning of the words ‘unconditional love’.

I may have been there to feed her, wipe her runny nose, teach her the simplest basics like lifting a spoon from the plate to her mouth, but as Kwezi has grown from the baby to toddler stage, she has also played her part in helping me grow up, to think of the much bigger picture, to become a woman who she must look at one day and feel proud.

This year, we make another milestone. Kwezi will begin school. The blend of what her teachers will teach her and my own lessons is something that I am looking forward to. She is a friendly girl and I am comfortable with the school that I have chosen. 

I cannot call myself an expert at parenting but so far, God, good luck and some trial and error techniques have really been on our side.  We continue to soar and I have a feeling this is going to be a great year for both of us. So buckle up baby. The ride has just begun. Wish us journey mercies.