Skip to main content

Winter ABC Day 26: Portraits of My Life

Photos without captions are left for one's interpretation. A picture is worth a thousand words, some often left unsaid.

As I flip through old photo albums, I read the stories told by each image. I'm by nature, nostalgic, and find peace in past time's paradise. But those photos show how far I have come. I see the journey to unlearning and healing. I see the map to self love. There are images of loved ones both living and deceased.

Memories are affirmed by photos and below are the portraits of my life.

1. Photo with dad

My middle name in Zulu loosely means 'daddy's girl'. Out of all my sisters, I cleaved to my father's hip. At 5 ft 2 in, my father was the figure that I looked up to. This photo resembles him carrying my life in his hands. I didn't have to face the world alone, daddy had me.



2. Photo of mum 

My mother was and still is the most stylish woman that I know. If it weren't for traditional Shona customs, I would still have most of her clothes. I would probably be wearing them. My mum looked good in everything. She loved red lipstick and rocked that Afro as if she was Pam Grief in Foxy Brown. This photo is of my live Pinterest board.

3. My pink Chinese dress



For one night, I was Cinderella at the ball. This photo was taken at my younger sister's birthday soiree. My cousin picked this dress for me. She said that it brought out my personality - weird and adventurous. She forgot lover of the exotic. This was the first time that I felt very beautiful. It was more than just the dress, it was my perception of self. The dress also happens to be inspired by one of my female idols, Sadé. Exhibit A.



4. Photo of my daughter



What personality rolled up into one little human being. My daughter is loveable. She is sweet yet mature beyond her age. She is generous with a gigantic heart. She says that she wants to be a star. Looks like she is one already. This photo is my lighthouse - guiding my journey through motherhood. I hope that I will be a great mother.

5. My sister as a bridesmaid



This is what sibling rivalry looks like. Anybody remember the MTV cartoon 'Daria'. I'm so Daria and this is my sister, who's like Daria's sister, Britney. Growing up we were always compared. I wad the smart one and she's the pretty one. Pretty always wins, smart hurts. As adults my sister still has that competitive trait in her. She often projects onto me - she wants me to be 'her'. Although she never admits to it. This photo is a compliment from me, you are beautiful and that's enough. I'm in my lane and that's enough.

Thank you for going through the exhibition of my photos. They remain in this gallery for your own interpretation.

Merci beaucoup!

P.S. Always write your own love story!

Ciao!

Lady E

Comments

Popular Posts

Inspired By A Thread

Colour blind is ignorance when all you see is red... ...learn your colours! Oi, you lovely lot! Whaddup, 'ow's it goin'? I’m gettin’ there, innit? Just takin’ me time, you know how it is. A while ago, I scrolled down my timeline, and I came across an interesting thread on X. Actually the responses were wild, but it had me thinking, I would love my readers to share their own experiences. The question was as follows; What was the craziest thing that you've done to investigate a man? Fam, the responses in this thread are worthy of scripts. Don't play with a woman who wants the truth. She has better investigative skills than any intelligence agency. This led me - actually inspired me to share my own personal experiences. My life is so ironical. I like keeping my relationships on the low because my ego can't handle the humiliation if things don't work out. However, drama seems to ensue whenever I decide to allow a male into my space. Of late, I realised that I ...

Single ladies: Wife material

MPV.....my point of view! Single Ladies: Wifen Material *Royal wave*Hey single ladies,your guide is back.The pursuit for Mr Put-A-Ring-On-It is on.Today I would like to make you a get-a-ring-on-it lady. Now following my articles,'Single Ladies Part 3',where I talked about the prince searching for a 'real princess',or 'Queen';and 'Brown Sugar',where the word 'brown sugar' was defined as wifen material,I would like to talk about 'wifey material'.(Whether we are that). How do we single ladies get that ring-on-it,you ask?By being wifey material.My uncle keeps on telling me,'If you want to become Mrs X,you should be a wife.You are a wife before he puts a ring on it'.What he means is that,a man will treat you the way you portray yourself.How,you ask? Ever noticed the difference between a wife and a girlfriend.Now let me break it down for you.A girlfriend usually,takes life in a more leisurely way;unlike a wife,whose focus is mo...

I'm Ready

Por qué me siento así, mi amor? Lo podemos culpar a Cupido!   Bring on the tissues, and a tub of ice cream, and Amarula cream. Cupid really picked on me and not at the best time. And then 'Stupid Cupid' starts playing. Bonjour single ladies! Forgive me for the dramatic entrance, but I feel like a hopelessly enamoured teenager. Remember  le garçon du chocolat ? Oui. Well, what started off as a crush, has developed into more. Could I be in-love? Umm... But I think that the sparks have fizzled out on his end. Throwing myself on the couch.  Why am I this person, though? Am I setting myself up for possibly another heartbreak after recovering from a not so recent one? Like, le garçon du chocolat lives rent free in my mind, and mostly in my dreams. Am I supposed to feel like this actually? Gosh, I feel so embarrassed with my grown self.   So while, I'm manoeuvring through my emotions, let's talk about starting all over again with a renewed perspective. Gather around ladies,...

Take Care

“I know that you’ve been hurt, by someone else I can tell by the way, you carry yourself But if you let me, here’s what I’ll do I’ll take care of you.”-Take Care, Drake featuring Rihanna So in the episode 9 of season 3 of ‘ 2 Broke Girls ’ Max tries to get into pastry school after Caroline finds out that she had interest in being a pastry chef through a brochure found under Max’s mattress. Max is assigned to make a tart as a form of ‘interview’ and the head chef, Nicolas approves of the tart however Max receives a letter of regret saying that she didn’t get into the pastry school. Max decides to confront the chef who tells her that it was her attitude that he had a problem with and not her tart. According to Chef Nicolas, “You seemed like you didn’t want it,” and then Max replies, “I act like I don’t want it because I have never gotten what I wanted!” There, right there is where I related to Max, the part of life (and people) rejecting you to the point that you become indifferent ...

I'm Every Woman!

"I'm every woman, it's all in me Anything you want done, baby, I'll do it naturally",  I'm Every Woman by Whitney Houston (originally Chaka Khan).... God I miss Whitney! Happy Women's Month, with this article being posted a day after 'International Women's Day'! If there's one group that knows how to own a month, it's definitely WOMEN! Have you checked out all the records released in the past five to seven decades about femaledom? Y'all my playlist is full!  We run the world, we are superwoman, we just wanna have fun and most recently, we are 'Mambokadzi' (Shona for Queen ). It doesn't get any better than that. So what does Women's Day mean to me? With millions of women and allies across the globe celebrating this annual event, this day speaks volumes! It's more than just a day, or month, but a complete revolution dating back to the 1950s, and even centuries before. My experience with this day...