Siblings Nikisha and Dr Nadya Watson embrace family culture

Sisters Nikisha and Dr Nadya Watson may have excelled in their respective professions, but because of the way in which they were raised, they continue to remain humble and true to themselves.

The duo are the daughters of retired UWI professor Patrick Watson, and they told WMN that while some of the things they say and do may appear abnormal to some people, to them it is part of their family's culture.

Nadya, the elder of the two, is a medical doctor who specialises in palliative care. Nikisha, an actuary, lives in England and is well known for her personal Facebook vlog ThisisrealMama – a hilarious personal account of her motherhood journey.

"I am not as colourful as my sister because of my profession," Nadya said.

"I can’t go online and just dance and wine," she said with a hearty chuckle.

"And my following is not as huge as hers, but our mannerisms are the same."

She said she and Nikisha are like their dad. Her other sister and brother are more reserved, like their mom.

"I don't know what the hell going on with them, nah!"

But as outgoing as she is, Nadya said she has always been afraid of public speaking and did not begin posting videos on social media until 2022. Her videos can be viewed on The Healthy Living Medical Practice's social media pages, where she offers free Top Tip with Dr Nadya Watson advice on various medical topics. She also does a show on palliative care on Breaking Dawn on Synergy TV.

Nikisha started her vlog after having her youngest child just over five years ago.

In a Zoom interview with WMN, she said, "I used to post written statuses about my parenting journey on my personal Facebook page, and my family and friends would tell me, 'Oh God, you need to have a vlog. You need to write a book because you’re so funny,'” she said.

While on maternity leave, she said, she used to look at a number of parenting-based posts which all gave the impression that parenting was easy and perfect.

"Like it was butterflies and rainbows, and it annoyed me a little bit. So I decided to start my own because I couldn’t be the only mom who was a bit fed up of seeing blogs that made me feel inadequate, and I just wasn’t convinced that it was true. I did not expect it to blow up at all," with over 67,000 followers on Facebook.

Earlier this month, she went a bit further, self-publishing her first book, Mama's Filthy Mouth, through her ThisisrealMama brand. Available on Amazon, the book is classed as fiction but was inspired by her life.

"I started writing it five years ago when I was pregnant. It is about a Trinidadian woman who lives in England, who has two children and just found out she is pregnant with her third. The style is written like a memoir, and each month is a chapter.

"It covers one full year in the life of Kavita, the main character, and each chapter talks about her daily life in that month. It takes you on the journey through her pregnancy, her life tackling three children, school runs, how she relates or doesn't relate to other moms, her husband, her career and trying to have it all, and failing miserably at doing that.

"Similar to my vlog style, it is real-life situations made light-hearted through humour because that’s how I communicate...I’ve had a lot of feedback so far, much of it positive. I have to admit, the most terrifying thing I’ve done is publish that book."

The book, like the way her vlog started, contains some profanity, so she is warning people who do not appreciate the way she speaks not to read it.

"I have a bit of a potty mouth and a lot of people used to tell me that was the one thing they didn’t like about my vlog when I first started. I toned it down a bit, but I believe in being true to myself.

"It is a bit in protest of people who tell me I shouldn’t be using that type of language. Growing up we were able to express ourselves in that way, of course not cussing our parents. When I started doing my vlog and people started telling me they didn’t like it, especially coming from a woman, I was surprised because I never even thought something was wrong with that. So I decided my book would be a bit of a protest to say, 'This is me, that’s how I speak and I’m not changing that.'"

The sisters said they grew up "grassroots, free and wild" and it was strange to them when people viewed some of their behaviour as abnormal.

"Initially we lived in St Augustine, then a 'tiny village' in Montrose, Chaguanas. It was on a little side road with very few neighbours," Nadya said.

"We didn’t comb our hair, we would go down the road to the grocery bareback when we were seven and eight. My father sent us to camps for underprivileged children, our good friends had lice and no clothes, and that was normal for us. Everyone else thought it was unusual, except us. I guess it made us more real...We went to panyards from the time we could walk, we sang calypso in tents... I used to sing with Kerwin Dubois, Fay-Ann (Lyons) and Patrice (Roberts). We did roaming junior tents," she said.

She laughed at how her boyfriend, now husband, reacted when he visited her once and she walked out to the gate in ragged clothes and barefooted.

"It was a culture shock for him when he entered my household. He must have thought the whole family was mad, because he grew up worrying about dew and you can’t wet your head late, and you have to wear slippers. But he adjusted well," Nadya chuckled.

And although Nikisha and her husband have very different parenting styles, they make it work.

"He is British and his style is gentle. He doesn’t shout... He is the fun one and I am the crazy one – the stricter, more disciplinarian type.

"It’s a good balance and we support each other's style."

And when it comes to recording her vlog, he has always been supportive.

"But these days he is too busy running his businesses to film me and my foolishness. I have to do it myself."

Of her three children, she said, her youngest child, Yelena, is most like her.

"I always have to warn her when I have meetings because she doesn’t wear clothes in the house. I kinda give up on her, yes. When I talk about her, mommy just laughs because I really made myself. I didn't start wearing a T-shirt until she made me when I started to get breasts when I was about 11...I was a proper tomboy. When I got my first boyfriend she was shocked because she thought I didn’t like boys."

A Caribbean woman at heart, Nikisha moved to England 22 years ago to attend university.

"Six years later, I moved back to Trinidad," but then returned to England to do her master's degree.

"We were meant to be here for a year, but my eldest son didn’t want to return to Trinidad, so we stayed."

Nadya, on the other hand, did all her tertiary-level studies in Trinidad and Tobago.

"When I decided to go to medical school, I already had my first child at 22. She is now 24.

"I did everything locally because I didn't want to leave. Not that I didn't have the option; my father would have done anything for us regarding our education."

Now, she goes all out for her patients, especially those who are terminally ill, who have the option of seeing her at her office or via home visits.

"A big part of that is symptom management, counselling, end-of-life care...helping them die with dignity and comfortably, especially if they are young and have children.

"My youngest patient was seven years old. I have found that children are far easier to deal with than adults and more mature when dying. They are braver and stronger, it's their parents who don’t know how to do the letting go."

Nadya said in the new year she will be expanding her south-based services to north Trinidad. In January she will be setting up an office at Hummingbird Women's Health, Woodbrook with gynaecologist and oncologist Dr Vanessa Harry.

"I have a different and unique style that I think people will like. I'll be bringing a little San Fernando to Port of Spain.

"It was at the back of my head, but I had to give it a lot of thought because I’m a south girl even though I grew up in Chaguanas...

"Anyone is free to come and see me, and I will do home visits at a decent cost."

Nikisha too has big plans for 2024.

"I am moving to Barbados in February for work, and my family will join me in July.

"A lot of people are surprised that I am an actuary by profession; they think I’m an influencer.

"There is a very serious side to me that most people don’t see. I work full-time, I go to the gym religiously, I spend time with my kids. Oh my God, I sound so boring now that I've said it out loud."

She said the timing of the move is right because her eldest son will soon be off to university and she's "not going to allow my other two to dictate my life.

"Luckily they do want to go (to Barbados), so that helps."

She said she knows the time she is away will be "chaos" at her home, but "I will be on the beach...

"My son is doing A levels in May, so I'll be back (in England) for six weeks, and once his exams are over, I'll go back to Barbados."

Because Barbados is "quite British," she believes it will be an easy transition for the children.

"It will be a nice mix of both worlds, and it's safe."

Had it been just her, she said, TT would have been the obvious choice.

"I don’t ever want to sound like I’m bashing TT...But my kids are used to being able to be free...I feel like I’ll be doing them an injustice because they are not used to me being so restrictive as when I bring them to Trinidad," because of the crime situation.

But, Barbados is close enough to home.

"I’m accustomed to a close family unit, so I'll get to see them more. My father already told me he’s coming for Crop Over, so we’re already planning a lime...I always tell Nadya she doesn’t know what it is to not have that family circle close by."

And will she miss England?

"There are probably things I’ll miss, like the online efficiency and picking strawberries with my kids. But I love Julie mangoes as much as strawberries, so I’ll be fine."