Not a fan of stereotypes, but there are some situations that I've not been able to explain outrightly except accept the fact that it's simply the nature of things.
Being a guy and growing up hearing words like what a man can do, a woman can do even better was kind of weird.
It wasn't really me looking down on the female gender, but more of cultural disbelief. A guy was supposed to be an embodiment of masculinity and strength. What then could possibly be so hard that a woman would do even better.
It was a question that kept bugging me, and being a gentleman who didn't want to offend anyone, I couldn't put it up for a debate without actually offending somebody.
Voila, Then came life lessons to the rescue.
The first time I was ever trusted to fully look after someone other than myself was with a nephew. Everyone knew I was good with kids, so it wasn't unreasonable actually leaving me with one.
'Hey hazmat, I need to be somewhere tomorrow morning. Do you think you can look after your nephew' my aunt said over the phone that night
'Yes of course, it's not a problem' I replied
After teasing me for awhile, she ended the call.
I had agreed knowing my mum would help out with the baby. I was on my way to inform my mum of the intended arrangement when it occurred to me that I wasn't the person she should've asked.
'Hey Mum, Big sis called just now to ask if I can watch her baby tomorrow'
I called her Big Sis even though everyone older would've technically been called an Aunty regardless, but it was something that had stuck over the years.
'Oh yes, she asked me first but I need to run some errands in the morning' my mum replied
'Oh, so you won't be around tomorrow morning?' I asked, just realizing my mum must've given my Big sis the idea initially.
'Yes dear, but it's just for a few hours and either me or your Aunt should be back by then' she said, giving me her grammy winning smile.
The smile was all the assurance I needed, there was absolutely nothing that could go wrong. Besides it wasn't the first time I would be looking after the baby, it was only the first I would be unsupervised.
Morning came not only with the sunrise but with a wave of nerves I couldn't show publicly. Afterall it would only be for a few hours I thought as I struggled to get up.
Breakfast was ready even before I woke and mum was soon out of the house as I waited in anticipation of my Big sis arrival. I was still eating breakfast with my little sister when my aunt arrived and luckily her baby was asleep.
It looked like the fates were on my side I thought. Since they'd both promised they would only be gone for a few hours, the baby might just sleep through it.
Boy, how wrong I was.
Less than thirty minutes after my aunt left, he was awake and letting everyone in the neighborhood know he wasn't interested in being quiet.
My first action was to try to pet and play with him and this seemed to work as he was interested in the numerous dancing shows I and my little sister put on.
My sister soon went out to play with her friends and I then realized there was a difference between keeping a baby occupied for ten minutes and occupied for a few hours.
After about an hour, I was tired, drained and exhausted and feeling like six hours had passed. Already out of ideas for funny acts to put on display, my nephew soon began crying again and I was already contemplating how long was proper before I started calling my aunt or my mum.
The Amazons to the rescue. My little sister and her friends came in and immediately took over the crying baby. Apparently in my panic, I'd forgotten that babies actually eat and didn't remember to feed the baby.
They took over and were making such a fuss that it would've been surprising to anyone that they weren't even mother's yet. I was in no condition to complain though, I quietly retired myself to a corner and watched as all the drama was unfolding.
It was one mystery solved for me. As much as I believed myself capable of taking care of my nephew, it seemed my little sister and her group of friends were even more than capable.
I had always wondered why as we grew up, the girls were more inclined to play with dolls and set up make believe parties. But my answer was staring me right in the face, it seemed girls just grow up with the instinct to mother and baby everyone without really learning about some of those things.
It was nature's inbuilt intuition at its finest.