Motherhood and Entrepreneurship - Finding a balance

Source: http://ansenleadership.com/2010/09/14/the-raising-kids-head-vs-working-head/

Hi guys, hope we're all having a great weekend? I am grateful for today. God saved me last week and I think it's worth sharing. You would think that being an entrepreneur makes raising kids a walk in the park! Think again.

I realized my second son had this catarrh with a runny nose that just wouldn't go. My kids are garlic and ginger trained (yes ke!), so we hardly have to deal with those allergies and flus. Garlic is a great immunity booster, I read that somewhere a few years back. This one however, defied all the honey and ginger concoctions and I eventually bowed to "ogun oyibo" cough mixture.

Days after, this thing was still there and to make matters worse, there was a smell; you know the smell like when something is infected? Yea, that smell. His elder brother kept ringing it in my ear "mummy Semi's mouth is smelling", at first I thought maybe mama nanny hadn't been  brushing his tongue properly so I took it up myself.... no change! I am ashamed to say this but rather than go to the hospital, I went to a nearby pharmacist and described the smell and catarrh that won't just go and he prescribed an antibiotic (self medication tins!). Sometimes to go and sit on the hospital queue is a nightmare. Hospital visits almost always end up consuming a whole day.

Anyway halfway into the antibiotic dose, I notice thick dried catarrh on his nose and for some reason decide to look into the nose; behold there's something in there that looked like a boil or an inflammation of sorts! Yee mogbe! I was worried sick, like chai why didn't I just take this child to the hospital since.So, I packaged him and his brother, (he had caught the cold too) with my nanny first thing the next morning and we headed to the hospital, straight. When I got to the doctor, I narrated my story and gave my diagnosis a la "looks like there's a boil in his nose" hahaha!! Doctor Mofolusade. He just smiles, gets a little gadget with a light and looks into the nose, then he looks at me and says, madam there is something in his nose! Huh? Something in his nose as how? I check these boys like a mother hen o, when, where and how did something get into his nose? What something even? Naaaah! I say to him, no sir, I don't think he put anything in his nose - I mean, how can someone have something in his nose for over a week and be jumping up and down and playing? How! These kids will not kill somebody o. He just said, madam we'll have to take a swab for testing and take the object out. I was so confused and afraid, I called my hubby from work and he came running to meet us there. Long and short, they removed the folded paper from his nose, right before my eyes! I was so shocked, I almost passed out. Thank God I used the antibiotics when I thought it was a boil. Wetin I for talk, if it had become something else.

All of this was in that tiny nose!

With all my mouth that as an entrepreneur, I have time for my kids, bla bla bla! This happened under my very nose! God have mercy. Honestly, we can never be too careful and at the end of the day, it's really by God's grace that we manage to raise kids.

Lessons

1. Pray, Pray, Pray.......... I cannot over emphasize this
2. Pay attention to your kids - We need to be listeners. Even if you think they are just rambling, pay attention. No matter how tired you are when you get home, try to listen to whatever they have to say, most times they just might be giving you pointers.
3. When in doubt, just go to your doctor, don't assume
4. As much as possible do random checks on your kids if you have a nanny to check for wounds or anything unusual. I bathe my kids myself every weekend, at least I am not rushing anywhere on those days, most of the time.
5. Er..... no self medication please *covers face*