ALL GROWN UP

1. Amua. You decide what you want to do with your life. Ye, you are still hangover from your parents’ expectations and those castles you built in the air. For most of us, this is the last chance to dream.Remember that if we bend to the wind very easily, the wind will one day be gone.

4. Dance. You are dancing to the tune of a beat but with beginner’s steps. Move it fast enough to earn your place on the floor, to get noticed, to have fun, to make money, to beat time and to enjoy the beat. Seems like a lot to do but don’t worry-you have the energy and zeal to get it done. But most importantly, dance to have fun. These are after all the youthful days of your life. They have an expiry date.

21. Unleash. Plans are just very good dreams until you get the wheel rolling. This is what sets you apart from the rest. If you begin to do, you begin to see other ways of how and how not to. The thing with this step is not to always get it right instantaneously. This is what sets the giants apart from the dwarfs-picking oneself up when you fall. Being a good student now makes all the difference later, you shall find out.

12. Look back. Where you are from, my friend, is not worth forgetting. Constant evaluation helps reset your goals and gets you in the mood to count your blessings. Do not do it for the heartbreak-do it for the blessings you want to count now. Enjoy and live in the moment makes sense if you’ve gauged the past and find reason worth celebration there.

20. Team. Every captain needs a team to get through. You know one sheds off friends along primary, high school and college. Think of it as refining your team. You get friends who believe in you and will be around long enough to ensure you get on that road. You meet that other half of your heart and chase after it like nothing else will ever matter. You form a team without which you lose your compass.

IF WE DID NOT HAVE PAPA. WE WOULD :
1. Never open cans and jars.

2. Always have repairmen at the house for changing bulbs,fixing TV signals etc
3. Be broke because who would pay for our treats and family days out.
4. Always have to ward off the hyenas at our fence.
5. Always be beaten by Mama without a fair hearing.
6. Never have Mama relaxed because the six of us were a handful for 1 parent.
7. Never attend school or learn how to do Math problems.
8. Not have 15 heads of cattle at our boma when the men came to "borrow" my sister.
9. Not own our family land in the ancestral village where we call home.

10. Always be ripped off because our super-bargainer would be gone.
11. Not understand obedience,fear,respect and pass on the same to our children.We would be errant children who have mugshoots all over the place.
12. Hate rhumba and old school soul music.
13. Never have photographs of ourselves in nappies.
14. Never aspire to be more than an "average" student- who settles for an A or first degree/diploma if your father has his way?
15. Be nyef-nyef or weak children who cry at the smallest injury, not the strong adults we are.
16. Know how to speak only the white man's language.
17. Not understand why God is a Father and why man was made first.
18. Lack standards for the next generation of men to aspire to.
19. Have no idea what kind of men we want to be married to.
20. Not have brothers,significant others,bosses, colleagues,brothers and the many giants that have shaped our societies.

FOR THE MAN THAT IS PAPA

Happy Father's Day!
I will make this short so that I can run off to the kitchen and make your tilapia stew  just the way you like it: thick and rich with carrot and tomatoes, no flavorings added. I am happy to call you Father because:
1. You gave me my first birthday.You held Mama's hand through nine months to usher your legacy on this Earth.
2. You were my first warrior-protecting this boma of ours, laying the groundwork & creating memories.
3. You were my waiter,costume designer, housekeper,nurse,chauffer,accountant,babysitter,disciplinarian, dreamchaser, accountant...I do not think we have enough space to detail your portfolio here.
4.You were Lwanda Magere- catch you dead crying.As you read this post,I know you will grunt in reply.That is code for "I love it, what next?"
5. You were the gateway to Our Father who art in heaven.The zeal with which you insisted we attend Sunay school was flattering to say the least.
6.You set the bar on the kind of prince that should marry your princess and fit the Gideon boots of the King before.
7. You wrote the Guide book on "How to live life Big as My Child". You set no limits for me, even in my dreams.
8. You were the head of the Family, the star from the East, our sense of direction before we knew we needed it.