Am Pained: Parents Beware

It’s not because I think by any chance that you are irresponsible, I just think that you should be a little bit keener. Just like you pay attention when signing cheques and approving documents, or fiting a wedding outfit, be keen around your children.
 

Parenting today has become sort of complicated, not by choice but by circumstance. They are caught up in soo many issues and commitments that sometimes their minds are neither here nor there. In so many cases our babies are left in the care of our house helps, God bless them. Most of us and especially for first time mothers, if given an option  they would be stay home mums. Trust you me I would if only for the sake of my little munchkins.

I happened to hear a saddening story yesterday as I was picking a few things at the grocery shop on my way home. I bled a little.

Am sure this is not the first time you have heard of this but since it’s still happening, I gotta write about it. It might speak to one, two, all or none but if you get to read this please don’t just brush it off, think hard about it.

#mamabongachronicles: So I am just picking my groceries when I over hear two mamas talking in hashed tones. What I hear is heart breaking. A man/husband had come home for lunch as it’s his usual routine. He enjoyed his wife’s finger licking meal and a good play time with his kids. What an admirable family. What happened as he was leaving for work is what everyone is talking about in hashed tones.

The father, as usual leaves the youngest baby tucked in bed for the afternoon nap and then the older kid sees him off to the car. The younger one is around two years going to three and the older on is seven years. Mummy and son wave good bye to daddy and unknowingly the younger baby had stepped outta bed and gone to tell daddy goodbye. Unfortunately no one saw him hide behind the car and all they heard when daddy reversed the car was a shrill sound. Daddy had run over his baby and probably killed him. They all run to where the sound was coming from just to be received by the disfigured image of their baby’s body. They rush him to the nearest hospital amidst confusion but was pronounced dead on arrival. That was the harshest news they had received in a very long time. 

The image of their baby’s lifeless body will forever live in their memories. The father will never forgive himself despite the numerous number of times he goes to see the psychiatrist. They will forever blame themselves. I pray that they get a piece of mind.

#chroniclesadvise: amidst your many thought, errands, please take keen attention of the small ones around you. You can easily be distracted by a very small thing and you end up causing irreversible damage.

Hold their hand when crossing the road. Avoid sending your children to the shops alone. Ensure they are picked and dropped home by sober drivers.

 Merry xmas peeps…

I DON’T MEAN TO SAY THAT I HAVE BETTER PARENTING SKILL, I EVEN DON’T HAVE ONE OF MY OWN YET BUT ISSUES TO DO WITH CHILDREN JUST KILL ME.

A step, a stride:

I have to confess that whenever something crops up in my mind and I think it’s worth sharing, I jolt it down. I wouldn’t want to lose a great idea. You know, ideas crop from soo many places. So many things could trigger your thought. Today I remembered baby pink, our shopping basket.

 

It’s like 40 minutes to lunch and I am itching to write this. 

So every day while on the streets walking to wherever, I notice that no matter how fast I walk someone has to pita me. I try to hasten my steps but still someone manages to overtake me. And you know what bites, it's the ease with which they do it. Have you ever experienced this? 

Once upon a time I used to be crazy on the road. I would see someone try overtaking me and I would accelerate despite the type of car I was using. I once drove a Toyota Duet, baby pink. You know it’s a pretty small car and in our household we used to call it a shopping basket. It was pink with cute blue seats. A boot the size of a ngumi and a forehead to die for. I loved it because it could penetrate even the tiniest parking slots. Our miss pink, we miss you. 

Now on this good sunny day, I picked miss pink since I wanted to run a few errands here and there. Our love was immeasurable. She knew that when am on the wheel she had to cooperate. Hehe. I was coming from Kajiado County headed to Galleria. You know how people with big engines or the matatus look down on you if you are driving a turtle. They blare those honks to I think sort of scare you off the road. You know how you shu shu a cat or a calf when you want them outta your way…. Wooi I can’t even believe I used that example but it’s sort of true. So baby pink has no tint by choice. They could clearly see it’s a lady driver and they put their best foot forward to either harass her or wink at her. Damn!!! So baby pink and I decided to show them dust. Sisi haoo and then, for those of you who know where Multimedia University is, on that damn hill, baby pink refused to move at a speed I needed her to. I pressed the accelerator but wapi, kakaanza kubreath as if it had been chocked by a hot potato from timau… haha. I got a pink face like my pink panther that day. My nephew told me that it literary shikad its waist and feigned fatigue. That boy!!!

Is olrait, I relaxed, allowed all those harassers overtake me honking soo loudly that the monkeys on that road almost demanded for haki yao from NEMA. Nikajiambia enyewe ‘asiyekubali kushindwa sio mshindani’. I placed my arm on the window with an expression of ‘mtadoo’. Of course I knew what they would do, wataniovertake namadharau. For once I wished baby pink had tint. Then I would have rolled em’ vioos up and giggled sheepishly. My tales with baby pink will never end. I always smile every time I remember our rendezvous.

What am I saying? You realize in this life that we cannot move at the same pace. We begin at the same spot, birth, but we cannot run the race at the same speed. Don’t fight too hard to be like so and so. Be your own man. Fight your own battles at your own favourable pace. You know what kills most of us, its envy, desire, and jealousy. Just because your college mate got an exemplary good job and his or her life seems to be full of glitter and glamour doesn’t mean you should also have the same. God has different plans for all of us and therefore if you work too hard to be like so and so you will die a very sad individual.  

#chroniclesadvise: be content with what God has blessed you with. 

“Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough” ― Oprah Winfrey

Happy is the new normal…

I have learnt to be content with what I have as I build my dynasty and continue being happy with what I will have achieved. In this life, you have to learn to be happy. It’s not a rehearsal, it’s the real shit. Every minute, second that goes by will never be rehearsed.

The day my parents passed on, I got a reality check. Am sure many of us believe that our parents are invincible. I always thought my parents will never go anywhere. How could they go anywhere and leave us? It was their responsibility to stay and protect us from this ruthless planet or so I thought. It came as a wakeup call. We are still dusting ourselves. We shall overcome anyway.

No one will help you be happy, it’s a personal decision. Being happy will attract happy people to you. Am sure no one wants to be surrounded by gloomy and grumpy individuals. That makes your blood pump more than it should.

Make the years that you will live count. Do the things that make you the happiest. If something doesn’t turn you on, drop it. Pick an engagement that will give you fulfillment. If it’s going for kesha please do it, if it’s riding sport bikes to charge your adrenaline please do, if it’s being a family person and raising your family please do. As long as it doesn’t leave bad taste in your mouth. If it’s working your ass out please do. Let the empty debes talk all they want. For all that matters, it’s your life and you are entitled to every decision you make. But don’t go hurting others just because life ain’t a rehearsal and just because you don’t give a shit. Damn! You are here to make a difference in a good way. Be that person who inspires others, a person that anyone can walk up to and ask for assistance.

I read pieces here n there quite often and I happened to read an article about a lady who was just expressing her gratitude after a gentleman assisted her change a flat tire. Am sure many of us would never stop if waved down by someone seeking assistance since the first thought would be, mkora wewe. But for sure, I also would think hard before stopping. We have heard soo many issues of people being carjacked and kidnapped. Hell no, who wants to be squashed in the kaboot especially if it’s one of those 1000cc engine cars. Haha… No hating but the boot is the size of your ngumi.

Am just writing by the way… Am sited somewhere waiting for this one person who makes my goose bumps misbehave? But I thought about life while here. There is soo much to be happy about. If someone makes you smile, makes you happy, makes you think about life in a positive way love them back. And when I say love I don’t mean Eros love I mean the humanely love. Storge kinda love…mmmh. Happy is good. 

When you smile to attendants in the café, supermarket, gas station, salon, receptionist, believe you me 99.9% of them will give you excellent service. Others can’t be helped. Grumpy is the only vocabulary in their dictionary. Don’t exchange bitter glances with them, just smile and move on.

Muriungi miss loves a good laugh. Wishing you happy festive season