You heard right. Just 100 yards from our home, stands a large green metal container, about 7 by 7 feet high and wide, that we pass by everyday on our way home from school. And on lucky days, we’d catch the monkeys at lunchtime with food strewn across the jungle road and we’d stop to say hello.

That day, T1 asked how the large monkey trap caught its monkeys. I explained that there was bait inside and once the monkeys jumped in, there was no way out. I could see her face having that perplexed confused look wondering why the idiotic monkey would fall for such a prank.

Then, she asked, “Are monkeys smarter or humans smarter?”

“Humans, of course!”

“What about monkeys? Are they all same smart or are some smarter than others?”

“Just like human, some are smarter than others….”

“If I was a monkey, I wouldn’t jump in there….,” was she trying to tell me that she belonged to the ‘smarter’ category?

I took the opportunity to make this a lesson plan on compassion and sharing, as she is lacking (to me) in these areas. She is only compassionate and shares with those that she WANTS to share with, but with people who’ve hurt her, she is extremely unforgiving. And although some may feel that this is a normal response, I would like her to be a bigger person. Because my mother is. So I’m just passing it on. Thanks to Nana, our entire family opine that being extremely intelligent or extremely rich, is a secondary achievement, if it can even be considered that. A real achievement is having a big heart. You could be a NASA scientist or speak articulately and eloquently or have the wit of lightning, you could own a few islands around the world or fly on private jet in your travels, but if you didn’t have a big heart, respect from us would be hard garnered.

Which is why the funniest, prettiest, richest girl is still finding it so hard to steal my brother’s heart. Her heart just ain’t big enough. Yet. Yes, the heart can be grown and nurtured and I intend to start early with my own girls.

I asked her during our drive home, “What if you were really hungry and needed to eat the food that was in the monkey trap? What would you do?”

T1 answered nonchalantly, “OH, I’d just get food from the other trees. There are lots of trees with berries and bananas, I’ll just hunt for them.”

I challenged her, “What if you were smaller than the other monkeys (and she is smaller than most her friends!) or if you weren’t so fast, and all the other monkeys always got to the food on the trees quicker than you, and you were always left with nothing, what would you do then?”

“Not to worry. I’ll just become good friends with the fastest monkey and he will share his food with me.”

*SOMERSAULT TRIPLE TIMES OVER IN EXASPERATION*

Thus, began another lesson on friendship and how you should never use your friends and that this was no better than her friend liking her only for her nice toys blablablablablabla………….

What about your kids? Care to share? Is this a 5 year old phase thing?

Anyway, compassion, sharing and friendship…….we’re working on it. At least she said that if she were the fastest monkey, she WOULD share her food with the weaker monkeys, but ONLY if they were nice monkeys. There is hope yet.

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Who is Mamapumpkin?
Mamapumpkin spent 7 years in London committing crimes to gain her Bartlett degree in Architecture. She then spent 7 years as a Stay At Home Mom raising her children as documented in this blog of over 15 years thereafter returning to the Corporate World stronger than ever as the Country Director of a British Multinational. She sets out to prove to all, that you can have anything and everything that you want; if you have that fire of desire burning within and the drive to work hard. Even better with much love.

Mamapumpkin has not only grown corporate businesses successfully in the past but has grown not one but TWO network marketing businesses in the notorious MLM (Multi-Level Marketing) industry, achieving success in under 2 years. She believes in the MLM business model but realises the DRASTIC PITFALLS and great stigma attached to it, understanding EXACTLY WHY the majority would shy away (or RUN for their lives) from ANY MLM business. But open your eyes and take time to understand it intellectually, remove your hang-ups, confirm your research, and you may just want to seize an opportunity. She did. And no, she never went about chasing people for sales. She had a sophisticated system work for her through technology and a smartphone.

She now impacts lives authentically with proven strategies amassed through the last decade of her own transformation offering online coaching programmes and always supports the underprivileged. She believes that we can all have a life of our own desires to enable real contribution into the world. But first, one needs to understand what this all means.

A beautiful life without limits.

If you wish to learn some tools to propel your life forward guaranteed, be brave enough to make contact as her life's purpose is to build people. She operates through a discovery call after which she will commit to helping you. Or not.

Most lose out on an opportunity because they are afraid they would be sold to, conned or whatever fear resides in their brain without even trying. And that's on them.

Mamapumpkin is a living testimony that women really can have a lot. Being financially and time free has enabled her to travel the world anytime, anywhere, doing anything, and she spends most of her days with her children, having fun, and supporting others wherever she can. Also having fun.