The Brightest Flower!

One of the women, who made an impact on my life in many ways, even though we fought a lot and disagreed on many things, is still a flower in my bouquet. My mother.

Her name was Viola and I heard so many stories about her and witnessed a lot of things in the years I lived with her, which was not consistent but was on and off. I guess this is what happens when parents divorce and there is no agreed settlement on who should have custody of children. That is another part of my story which is ok to leave out.

My mother was the first born in a family of 9 children. She had four sisters and four brothers and one of the things I remember about her was that she was quiet a generous woman in her own way and she enjoyed helping. Even though she made some very poor choices which I did not hesitate to voice out, I am grateful that she was my mother. Due to problems beyond my understanding, she was not able to further her education, yet all her siblings either got degrees or had some form of good education. Even though she did not get much formal education, my mum made sure that I did not go down that path, hence, when I was small and of age to start primary school and the aunty I was living with then, had no desire to send me to school so I was told, my mother sent her own mother to risk her life and come to the village where I used to live and take me back with her so that I could go to school. I believe the courage of my grandmother and the desire of my mum’s heart for her daughter to get an education helped me be where I am today. I honor her for that and for instilling the value of education and hard work in me, her daughter.

Another thing that my mum taught me was sewing. She was a seamstress and ran a sewing business where she made school uniforms or uniforms for any type of profession, nurses’ uniforms, police officer uniforms, you name it my mother made it, sold some and some were orders people placed. She wanted me to learn sewing and made sure I learned and whenever I was with her, she reinforced what I was learning at school as far as sewing was concerned. So, from an early and tender age, I learned to love textiles and therefore, no surprise I am into weaving textiles and sewing them.

I learned perseverance, tenacity, loving those who hurt and mistreat you from my mother through her life. My heart was broken when she passed away at age 52 and even thought we fought a lot we had reconciled and God had healed our relationship by then.

I have told my friends that if my mother was alive, she would be very proud of me today. She did not approve of my “Jesus thing” at first and worse still when I stepped out to live a life of faith and completely trusting God for my well-being. I broke her heart and that of my brother and others, but at the end of the day I believe she had a bit of understanding of my calling and she was proud of me. I will always be grateful for my mother Viola Matsika for the things I learned watching her live her life. She probably is one of the brightest flowers in my bouquet!