Motherhood Archives | Mind of Malaka

Your MeeMaw Has a Favorite Song. It Might Interest You To Find Out What It Is.

Posted on November 5, 2019
by Malaka
with 0 Comments

At 8:15 every morning I take a water aerobics class because Big Girls need fitness too. And because while my breasts are cumbersome, vexing impediments to my speed while on land, they make excellent built-in flotation devices. Buoyant things, those GGs. https://tenor.com/view/safety-tips-safety-demonstration-life-vest-life-jacket-life-jackets-gif-14059253 Live footage of…

My Daughter Asked Me If She Could Have A Boyfriend. I Had To Tell Her ‘No’

Posted on July 24, 2019
by Malaka
with 0 Comments

Besides, a boyfriend isn't what she's really after. What she wants is social acceptance and external validation...which is normal for a person her age. On some level, we all crave this.

Bellefit is having a 40% off Sale

Posted on May 23, 2019
by Malaka
with 0 Comments

Do you suffer from Diastasis Recti? Has childbirth left your belly looking like it got a 50% score on the attempt? Do you have so much muffin top that people mistake you for a walking Pillsbury ad? No? Then you can skip this post. The…

These Are the Dangers of Removing Struggle From Your Child’s Life

Posted on March 12, 2019
by Malaka
with 0 Comments

Mothering comes in various stages of learning to unlearn to relearn. Isn’t that what the woke, young folks say these days? “We gotta learn to unlearn…” Whatever. As I type this I am sitting in a bar with a splitting headache. It’s * checks phone…

Conversations With My Daughter: Accepting Our Uncomfortable Reality

Posted on November 5, 2018
by Malaka
with 0 Comments

When I was at Hampton University doing my undergrad, I had classes with a student named Jemilla, an entity so powerful that at 18 she could only be described as more woman than girl. In the entirety of my (by then) very short life, I…

How We Condition Our Boys To See Themselves as Domestically Incompetent

Posted on October 22, 2018
by Malaka
with 0 Comments

“This video makes me feel lazy and messy and dumb.” Eh? Who is making my baby – only male offspring to jettison himself from my womb – feel ‘dumb’? As I whip around, I am confronted with the knot of muscles and knitted brows that…

Raising A Teen Is The Hardest Thing I’ve Ever Done

Posted on September 6, 2018
by Malaka
with 8 Comments

Raising a teenager is the hardest thing I’ve ever done and that’s saying a lot – because I’ve had a pretty difficult life. From homelessness (my family had to live with relatives for a stint before ‘upgrading’ to a hotel – the same hotel where…

Exploited: The Day My Child Became the Face of African Poverty Porn

Posted on June 8, 2018
by Malaka
with 0 Comments

Sixteen years ago I used to run a satirical blog called Maizebreak.com. It is now defunct. I would write parodies of the real news, conjure crazy and unlikely stories and photoshop images for humorous effect. It was my African answer to The Onion, which I…

We’re Finally Getting Closer to Having Those Elusive ‘Happy Periods’

Posted on May 28, 2018
by Malaka
with 0 Comments

The 28th of May is Menstrual Hygiene Day! And you thought it was just another Monday. Surprise! Menstrual Hygiene Day (MH Day) is a global platform that brings together non-profits, government agencies, the private sector, the media and individuals to promote Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM).…

The Mercy of Teachers Who Embrace Failure

Posted on March 28, 2018
by Malaka
with 3 Comments

I often talk about the teachers who shaped both the writer and woman I am today. Not infrequently, I mention one teacher’s name with more regularity than any other. (Go to Door Number 5 to receive your prize if you smiled wryly and said, “Mr.…

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