She is a mother of two, a son and a daughter and has been recounting the effect it has had on her. “That was almost forty years ago,” she begun.
Reliving her experience in a sit down with musician Kambua Manundu on YouTube channel Hey Mama, Karua confessed that it was the most humbling experience in her life.
“I wasn’t all that young. I got my first baby when I was 27. I was ready for it. I learnt during my pregnancy it was a very comfortable pregnancy, I learnt how to knit. I was a Magistrate at Makadara and during lunch time because there is nowhere to go, I would knit. So, it was exciting, and I was looking forward.”
Her job was very demanding, that led to her to make a big decision as a young mother. She quit her Magistrate job after maternity leave.
“After maternity leave, I did not return to Makadara, I returned to the law courts at the time.”
This was near her home, and she was able to go home for lunch to breastfeed.
“It’s actually magical to watch a child grow. The first few months, are the most magical because daily you see changes.”
“Motherhood a great joy, every moment of it, even today, and you go through challenges coz as you raise children, through teenage, there will be those fights, those run ins, but it’s still gratifying, I don’t think that you would wish for anything different.”
Adding;
“Parenthood and motherhood is a full-time job you don’t retire from it, throughout your life. It will become less intense but in one’s head it remains, and it is a full-time job.
When I see my mother, when I see grandmothers, how they react, grandmothers older than me, you will see how they are reacting and connecting with grandchildren. And now I am blessed because grandchildren is motherhood a second time.”
Explaining that she welcomes young children into her home and so one would walk in thinking she has more. How did she find juggling her tough law career and parenting?
“When my children were younger, I used to tag them along when I’m going to my harambees and meetings over the weekend.”
This provided her with time to be with her children. Looking back, the NARC Kenya leader concluded about parenting saying;
“Nobody can boast of having achieved work life balance, you just try and you try the best way you know how.”
What are some of the things she has learnt from her children?
She laughed while answering, “I think one thing is that you can’t win most of those battles with them and that’s how it plays out. You learn that with them it’s more persuasion, more talk than giving the rule book.”
A second lesson she learnt from her children was;
“So they also teach you patience because you will be tough, they will be tougher than you, you won’t tell them that they have won, but you will try to manage the situation. Being a parent is a lesson in patience.”
She finished by stating,
“You appreciate your parents even more. Why patience and sacrifice, because when you are aligning your priorities, they come first, their needs come first everything else. When you try and plan your time, you must somewhere in the corner, note that this is happening, and you learn to juggle.”
For her, this was something that she quickly learnt to adjust;
“Also trial and error. There is no manual,” Martha concluded.
by MAUREEN WARUINGE
