My Heart is Here//Libreville 🌴☀️

Today is a short post of little memories of when I came back to Libreville 🌴☀️in 2019 after decades of not seeing my little ville. My heart is still in Gabon. My heart is still in Libreville🌺❤️. It can't be anywhere else. When I first put my feet back 🏡 🌴🏠 home , I first went to stay to my aunt and uncle's. I gave birth to my baby 👶 I was with them surrounded by all the warmth of all the family members and my other mothers (My aunties, i mean my mother's sisters. I call them all Mom too) it was an experience and the family love❤️ that I received and cherish a lot. I had some of my cousins with me visiting me.( the others are abroad) One of my cousins in France, even sent me so many gifts and presents for my baby because the family was so excited 😊 🤗 to welcome an additional member in the family. Surprisingly, one of my sisters in law was also pregnant. She gave birth to her baby two weeks after me. It was another good news in our big family. In my culture and tradition there is a ceremony that we do after the women give birth to their babies 👶 the family invites friends and other family members to partake at a gathering and they present the babies to them. My uncle organized it at his house for my son and my sister in law's baby. Everybody was here, there were drinks🍸, foods, music 🎶 🎵 etc. The babies received 🎁 presents and blessings. It is an organization and a complete preparation. That's when I heard that song 🎵 " Jerusalema" it was played everywhere in town.

I had a good time I didn't even feel the absence of my direct family members ( i mean my mom and my siblings) because the family is so big and we are very close. My uncle also hosted the new year eve at his home. everybody was there for new year 2024. A family dinner with sisters ( cousins and their husbands) We dressed in Gabonese outfits 😊 and we had our local dishes with music🎶from home. So the brother in law who was visiting for the first time Gabon had an idea of our culture. By the way I should have a post on our local dishes. What we eat. How and when we usually do it Prior to all this celebrating time , women after giving birth usually go through our traditional spa for their body to recover. You know giving birth to another human being is not a joke. it is a blessing when you make it but the body goes through a lot! Understand that oral tradition is important in my culture. We don't talk anyhow. What you say is what you say. I talked about the Gabonese traditional spa in my website: www.poshenvogue.com I also talked about traditional spa for Women and children in general. for instance, My grand Auntie on my father side was giving me this spa when I was a child and she was singing for me blessings while doing it😊 That's why I said oral tradition is important. ***** ***** Our traditional spa for Women who just gave birth is not easy 😂😂 at all!! they put very hot water on your body you feel like your skin is burning but it is not! it is just a sensation. They really work on your tummy part so the organism would function fast and back. the body snatch back after few months of this procedure. Some women do not want to take it anymore. I did it for a month only because I was still recovering from a bad C section. Anyway! I spent good times at my aunt and uncle's house for a year while I was working on my family's 🏠 house and the appartment in town. This is me at my aunt's.

That time I was so uncomfortable in my skin because of the change of my body. I felt like it was forever. I almost got depressed about that. I didn't understand the change of women's body during the time of pregnancy and post pregnancy. Being supported by your family is so important during that time. I read it but I did not know what it was. and in Africa we don't talk about that. you just take everything in your heart Every changes you take them! your skin, your body shape, your nose ... but as I look this picture of my post pregnancy I don't think it was that bad... Sometimes we really need to be gracious to ourselves as women really. I remember that sometimes I was crying because I didn't feel my body ... It's sad bc i realize that i was too hard on me. But today I feel very comfortable with myself. I passed the age of feeling bad in my skin. Today, I truly love myself. I am back with my me. I feel blessed not only to be a woman but a woman from my country. A woman from my family line. I love the way God wonderfully made me. I am no longer looking for validation from other people. *****🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺😊 Then, the year after, I moved to the appartment with my son. It was another experience of my life. I was now a new mother on my own We were in the middle of the town center but our side of the building was surprisingly very quiet and resting. So it was easy for me to think and to ✍️write. We had everything around us by walking distance: pharmacy, banks, museum, the restaurants, the sea 🌊 the beach ⛱️ etc☀️ His nanny was such a sweet young lady. He liked his nanny very much!

I loved going down stairs to walk, visit and also pick up some flowers 💐 🌺 because I love flowers so much! I am a 🌼 flowers 💐 lover😊 My son is used to it so whenever he sees flowers somewhere, he run pick them up for me!😂 I guess he likes them too now. I attended family members wedding ( the European and the traditional ones. We had girls time ( Some of my cousins. the older to the youngest) this is one of our girls time at one of My cousins' place

Family is very important to me! And these are some of my pictures of April 2023. Our lives in Libreville. My heart is still there. between ⛱️ beach you wear your swimwear, the sea 🌊, hobbies and the walk in town, artisans village. Between the view of the magical hours from my 🪟 windows, the calm and quiet time of reading and writing. i had the best time! I miss it already...

😕 😞 Sigh it is so far now...because life must go on. In the weekends I was going to visit my other aunties and uncles. This is the African family culture 😊. We visit family. Some other weekends, I was going to Donguila my village to spend time there and work. Now I miss it! I miss it a lot. I will be Back for you My sweet Donguila ❤️ 😩 I miss you too.I can't forget you. I have a lot to do there. This is where I took time to get my energy back out of the noise of town

I will be back Libreville ❤️. I will be back My sweet Gabon, the love of my life. This is the end. You can check my website www.poshenvogue.com and my book Destination Libreville ☀️🌴

Now, I close this chapter with a song 🎵from my country. Elone is a traditional music and dance from North of 🇬🇦 Gabon. the song is kind of modernized a little bit. i love the convivial aspect of this music and dance. It is rythm of 😊 happiness. Yes, it is in my native language. thank you for reading.