A BRIEF LETTER TO MY MOTHER-IN-LAW
Mama Cathy,
Tomorrow marks exactly one year since I and your daughter here exchanged vows. I’d really like to impress you by saying that its been easy. No. Am not a lier. Neither do I intend to be one.
This letter thus, is a summary of my observations on your daughter Cathy. And a way forward. So mama, read carefully.
Cathy here is a perfect cocktail of both joy and sorrow. For an average man out there, Cathy would not last a week as a wife. This lady here is annoyingly extra. Her dream has always been to get a man who would take her into his arms, throw her into bed, and clean up the entire house as she sleeps.
I try.
They say that women are unpredictable. But I guess Cathy’s case is beyond that. One moment she’s is all sweet and caring, the next moment she’s wildly acidic. Cathy goes to any possible length to prove a point. Especially when she is right on a matter. You rarely see Cathy’s tears. Cathy is not in any Chama. She dismisses them as silly gossip caucuses meant for idlers. According to her she isn’t one. Cathy stays out late. At work though. For according to her, its only by soiling your hands in honest labour, that you can feed nations. But wait, am I Nations?
Mama, at this point you want to ask if I want to divorce her.
NO.
Cathy is of an emerging tribe. An interesting tribe of women. For you to marry any woman of Cathy’s ‘tribe’ you must open your eyes to the reality that for our women, things have changed and the ground has moved beneath our feet. This women from this tribe are not rude, they are just self aware. These women are not proud, they are only aware that they are great. They are not feminists, they are only advocates of a balanced social structure.
So mama,
Thank you for not confining Cathy into the retrogressive demands of tradition. Thank you for making her believe that she too can go full length with her career pursuits. And thank you for always reminding her that a dollar earned, is far more precious than a dollar given. For a man with diverse view points on life like me, there will never be a dull moment with Cathy. I am excited and looking forward to more adventurers years with her as wife (a comrade in life’s pursuits). Am looking forward to living my life on the edge, knowing perfectly well that mine is a wife who knows her worth, plants her feet on the ground and roars confidently in her brilliance.
Mama,
With God’s blessing, I and Cathy will definitely have a daughter someday. Am hopeful that society will not pull her down as a lady. And that she will remain open minded and ruthlessly aware of herself. Just like her mummy here. And that her too, she will join the tribe of women who will breath new meaning into a world saturated with double standards.
That she too will be part of a larger female citizenry that knows how to seek relentless joy and also know how to laugh with their whole heart. The women who are confident enough to speak to strangers, because they have nothing to hide in their hearts. The women who are not afraid to show men out of their hearts, if he no longer honors her worth. The women who flip gender norms and false limitations and go full throttle into the direction of their ambitions. The women who hold people who harass them into fierce accountability!
That is the tribe of my wife Cathy. And I hope my unborn daughter becomes one of that tribe too.
Once again Mama Cathy, thank you.
Pass my regards to my father in law. See you guys soon
Best.
Socrates