Dear ZedTears. Not Just A Pretty Face #1 By Tambu Geeray

She wakes up very early in the morning everyday to cook breakfast for the family while the world sleeps, while the man of the house still coils deep inside the duvet dreaming away, probably having a beautiful dream because dreams they say mostly besiege us when dawn approaches.

With the kind of renewed energy that only morning dew gives (my grand mom told me so) she sweeps, cleans, bathes the kids when they’re awake, clothes and feeds them, then gets them ready for school.

For the man of the house, she fixes his meals just as he loves them, sometimes she goes an extra mile to give it a little more than he’d expect with that midas touch of hers.

While at the breakfast table, she comes up with bright ideas and makes reasonable contributions whenever talks concerning the family are thrown therein. Even when she does not totally agree with some of the suggestions and opinions raised by the man of the house, she politely leads him into understanding why it should or shouldn’t be done this way or that way.

After a few smiles and laughs, they passionately kiss and wish each other an awesome day at work. A daily routine of theirs.

At work she goes about the business of the day doing all she can for the success and growth of all involved with such diligence that leaves you wondering if she ever gets tired or breaks down. Of course, she gets tired and also breaks down.

She’s made of flesh and bone like the rest of us.

But she’s got a magic wand, her smiles. She lets her beautiful smiles do the concealment.

She’s a bank manager in one of the A’ list banks in the country with lots of expectations and demands from both her employers, some of the employees and the teeming disgruntled account owners with the bank. She respectfully deals with these people everyday without a sign of displeasure even beyond her training.

But when she’s alone, she thinks of her life outside the purview of a bank manager, she thinks of her first and masters’ degrees both in Geology lying fallow in a box inside a closet back home. She thinks deep and sometimes hopes it wasn’t a waste of time taking the training that got her working in a financial institution in the first place…

She thinks of her second child whose headmistress has been complaining of under performance both in class and in the last examinations. How about her first child who recently had her first menstrual experience, meaning an extra eye has to be kept on her.

Then there’s the issue of a young lady who keeps calling at terrible hours claiming to be a secretary to the man of the house… She creates a personal “To Do” list and deals with all these one after the other like women deal with blackheads on their faces. She deals with lots of other challenges not mentioned above.

After an energy draining day at work, she rushes home thinking of the evening meal while driving. She thinks about how to get there on time amidst the unrepentant traffic, she worries about how to beat it and get home to get dinner prepared and served in good time before it’s dusk (coupled with the dieting demands of this this century.)

She’s indeed not just a pretty face. She’s a mother, a wife, a sister, an aunt, a lover of God, a virtuous woman, a builder and keeper of the home.

And to all the “Not Just Pretty Faces” out there, be you a teacher, a banker, a doctor/nurse, a lawyer, a mechanic, a cab driver, a farmer, a shop owner/keeper, a tailor/fashion designer, a hairdresser/stylist, a broadcaster, a reporter both in the print and electronic media, a musician, a professional dancer, a pilot, a caterer/restaurateur, too many to mention here, we honour you with all our hearts.

We respect you without blemish.

You have all got everything it takes to be the enigmas that you are.

Keep doing all you have been doing. R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

By Tambu Geeray

Tambu Geeray featured in my second post POTENTIAL. He sent me this beautiful piece that he wrote, dedicating it to all the amazing women that hold the aces which we mostly under appreciate. I couldn’t keep this piece to myself so I thought I’d share it here with his permission. Keep an eye for more fantastic write up from Tambu Geeray. RESPECT!

Design, Creative/Art direction, Illustration, Post
By Philip Abang
Credit: Tambu Geeray - Not Just A Pretty Face