Dear Kids
Whilst no parent has all the answers and whilst this mama is constantly, still learning, know this for sure:

- You are never alone
- Travel is the best teacher
- “No” is a good word. Use it often. It’s particularly lovely when there’s a dead silence and you offer no explanations
- “Please” and “thank you” never goes out of fashion
- Water heals. Oceans. Tears. 2 litres a day
- You have a built-built in “people” radar. Please listen to its beep beep beep when something feels offish
- Sleep is medicine
- Play, play, play. Never stop playing
- Less sugar, less screen time, more grass, more laughs
- God is inside you and no one one has a special hotline that you need to go through
- Betrayal is painful. Nothing can prepare you for that kick in the groin
- Go out and explore. You can always come home to cry
- Try and remember who you were before the world started pinning its labels on you
- Your body is beautiful. Exactly as is. Explore it. Admire it. Treat it right and it will reward you so much
- No one knows it all
- Blood makes you related. Loyalty makes you family
- Believe in magic. Those who don’t, never find it
- Your word is your honour. Do what you say you will. Always
- A grateful heart is a magnet for miracles
- Give freely. Of what you have. Of your time. And quietly please
- No one likes a show-off
- Learn to listen. To God’s voice in the early morning. To yourself. Certainly to people who you trust
- Shortcuts never work
- People will forget what you say but they will never forget how you made them FEEL. Be kind
- Books, music, thunderstorms and tea are good for lonesome days
- Abundance and prosperity are your birth right
- Look beyond the labels of race and religion, gender and social standing. How people treat people from whom they need nothing is where you should focus your scoring and grading
- Jealousy is when you count other people’s blessings instead of your own
- Love does not need to hurt
- Speak your truth. Even when your voice shakes
- What sets your soul on fire? Go there
- Learning is constant
- Messing up is okay. Intentionally hurting someone never is
- You teach people how to treat you
- You may have one “true love” or many or even none. Remember that you are whole anyway
- You have a story that only YOU can tell and you owe it to yourself (and no one else) to express that story in the world. Your way!
xoxo
Mama
Copyright of Lee Mayimele 2020 – First published 2017, All rights reserved