Traumatized!!

I have been in the house too long. This parenting/marriage thing has left me socially kwashiorkored. Seriously!
So, the other day I had a date with a girlfriend at Javas - Nakumatt. I planned to spend at least an hour with her before heading home. I got there early so we could maximize the moments.

I walked into the coffee shop and all eyes turned to look at me. I swear it was not in my head, it happened for real. “Mommy!” I nearly bit my fingers. I quickly found an empty table and sat down to save my legs from giving way. Eish!!

After catching my breath I scanned the room, my friend was not there yet but wow! There were loads of pretty ladies, dressed in every manner of fashion - as though they were all there to make a statement. There was a sense of pride in the air, don’t ask me how I perceived it. With their eyes and gestures they asked, “And who might you be?” No, I’m not paranoid.

I struggled to make an order because the Customer relations lady or whatever special name they give themselves didn’t mind me but I insisted.

As I munched on my tasty Chicken salad, I occasionally glanced up, just in case I spotted my friend coming in. I felt a laser sharp stare from the corner of the patio; an Arabic man was staring at me. For a moment I thought I just happened to be in the way of his thoughts. I glanced up again and he was still looking at me, swallowing was becoming difficult but I tried to concentrate. I raised my head, now looking at the entrance and an Ethiopian looking guy gave me a silly smile, I pretended not to notice, but he kept looking in my direction, I hoped my friend would walk in, but there was no sign of her. I never felt so vulnerable.

I quickly finished my meal, paid the waiter and sprung out. I breathed a sigh of relief when I got home to the more familiar people in my life. Phewx!

Missing you

My dear blog,

I miss you so. . .
Do you miss me too? Because you see, I miss you
Life’s been crazy lately -  juggling 6 balls is not a joke.

Please don’t frown, don’t misunderstand me
It doesn’t mean I like you any less, it’s just that right now, well right now, I have a lot on my plate.

Whhooooo! I blow the dust off and it runs right back to me
Falling on my face as if to blame me for the mess
Aa aa chooooo! Excuse me!

I've got a lot to say and you do too
I hope

Let’s make a date Just you and me
We'll shut the world outside
Shhh!

Parenting woes

Dear blog/diary

My parenting woes continue.

My little hero just don’t like school . He loves to play, watch cartoons and scare his little sister but the will to write (put pencil to paper to make legible symbols) is like “bad” blood given to an anaemic patient.

What happened to my truthful little pumpkin? Lies fill his mouth like a hungry man attacking his first meal in days. The bible teachings seem to have flown out the window together with all the nice toys - now broken that were bought over the holiday season.
His cutting remarks slice me right down my middle like the sword that led King Caesar into eternal sleep.
His disobedience is so out right almost engraved (I shudder), like a rock. But I must chip at it, one little piece by one little piece.

It’s frustrating.

How do parents love a child into obedience without considering lunatic asylum?
I’m speechless, I need the Holy Spirits intervention to articulate these matters before father God, Romans 8: 26 So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance.

Too deep for utterance!!

I live at the alter for I know not of any other way to raise a human being more so in the ways of the Lord. I try, I slip, I falter and fail. Sometimes I want to bury my head under my pillow and hope that somehow a gentle, God fearing, obedient, loving man will emerge .

Many have written instruction books on how to raise a child and I have read a few. The ideas are brilliant, just when I’m about to scream eureka and run out on Semawatta road in glee, I hit a snug. I’m reminded that I’m dealing with a unique creation, never seen before this; The magic words don’t work, the formula fails, more volcanoes erupt, we get burned, the smell of the ash remains on our frames everywhere we go.
Does God feel this way about me? Do I evoke dirty emotions in Him too?

A visit with the Amish

Last Friday, Brent and Diane, Mich, Sam and I took a trip to Lancaster county to visit with the Amish.
I find their lifestyle quite fascinating, so when Diane brought up the idea I was more than thrilled to check them out. The Amish are a religious sect originating from the Mennonites, who arose directly out of the reformation struggles of the sixteenth century.

The first thing that I saw that set them apart is their transport -  the buggy. Its a horse drawn carriage. They don't use cars.
"Englisher", "Yankee" or "High People" are the names given by the Amish for anyone who is not Amish.

They are known as the plain people because they wear plain colored clothing, they live in scattered farmland locations across America. They live within highly personalized relationships, avoiding more than casual contact with strangers who might attempt to educate them to the ways of the outside world. While the Amish avoid most of the conveniences of the 21st Century, something that most outsiders have difficulty understanding, they are happy in their way of life.

I first  heard about them  when there was a shooting at one of their schools and it was all over the news. Oprah on one of her cross country tours stopped by one of the Amish homes. They don't use electricity or telephones.
They are not too thrilled with people visiting their quiet countryside farms. In fact, they avoid anything more than casual contact with strangers and any possible influence from the outside world of the "Englisher" just as they have for more than three hundred years.

They mind their own business, that made me cautious not to ask questions or stare at them. For religious reasons, most Amish avoid having their picture taken. They will cover their face or turn away from a camera just as you would if a stranger suddenly tried to take your picture. Keep in mind, too, that flash cameras snapped in front of a passing Amish buggy may frighten the horse and endanger the buggy’s passengers.

We stopped over for lunch at one of their well known restaurants and the food was mm mm good!
They kept bringing dishes until we said stop. The order of service in the restaurant was that every one ate together at one long table. If you came in and found some people already seated you would join them and eat like one big family, nice!

Last Night

Last night the moon peeped through my open window
His smile lit my room
His rays sat gently on my naked frame

Last night the wind waltzed through my open window
Her breeze sent shivers down my back bone
Little goose bumps flowered this ebony skin

Last night I saw a fairy
Pretty beyond my simple words to describe
She sparkled from top to tiny toe
She a little bigger than my tiny finger
She skittered onto my shoulder and showered me in pixie dust
Mmm the aroma simple words do not articulate
Petals of lavender, peach, lilies, cherry pie, honeysuckle

I was young again
Fresh again
New again
Again
Last night
Candles
Butterflies
Flowers
Last night!!

Two Ow One One

I love the sound of horses trotting over paved streets.
I find the firm muscles in their hind legs very captivating, a connotation of strength and power. Just!

Yesterday I was listening to I choose by India Arie off her album Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship. Something in there kept me bobbing my head; it was more than just the beat, I was feeling the lyrics.

(And I choose) to be the best that I can be.
(I choose) to be courageous in everything I do.
My past don't dictate who I am. I choose.

(And I choose) to be the best that I can be.
(I choose) to be authentic in everything I do.
My past don't dictate who I am. I choose.
Because you never know where life is gonna take you and you can't change where you've been.
But today, I have the opportunity to choose.
I used to have guilt about why things happen the way they did cuz life is gone do what it do
And every day, I have the opportunity to choose.

Sam, Mich and I are loving our little bundle of Joy and energy. We added to this incredible mix by naming her Amani (Strength) and so now we have a little mukiga on our hands. Curious George has got nothing on this girl. She would give him a run for his money.
She melts her daddy's heart like butter in a hot frying pan. Monday 6:30am, daddy is on leave and turning over to catch the sweetest end to his sleep, he is pulling the blanket closer when she yells(to cry out with a strong, loud, clear sound) for attention. All groggy and red eyed, daddy turns to give her a sharp look, she wears her cutest, biggest, “Am-I-glad-to-see-you-Daddy smile". He can’t help but explode in laughter. She does it every single time.

Ever heard a baby break into a hearty laugh just before breastfeeding? That just kills me.

Thinking about the New year, I can almost feel grey hairs pushing their way out of my scalp; and the wrinkles, they apply themselves steadily around my eyes. Oi! a girl is growing older, hopefully wiser too.

So, what does 2011 have in store? That my friends’ is the gazillion dollar question.

Took a trip to Jinja for a change of scenery, where I was attacked with writer’s bout. Noto Bueno: A writer must always carry a pen and a note book to avoid the embarrassment of having to use napkins.

Anyway, since the dreaded CC (cost cutting) is still on our lips we took a humble aboard. I’m talking broken toilet seats, cracked remote controls, stained floors, squeaky doors - change of scenery alright. But I loved the fresh air, the sound of birds cooing and chirping; the sound of wind tickling the leaves and the vroom of cars way out in the distance. I could hear Mich playing with bottle tops on the stair case right outside our door. Sigh!

2011, is it just a continuation of 2010? Or something new and exciting?

No matter what, have an Anchor. That steadfast, immovable, all powerful, all knowing, supernatural, I-will-always-be-there Anchor. My personal favorite is the One who knows your life's middle from its beginning,your life's end from its middle and everything in between.

Make your plans, dream big, aim for the sky. Just know satisfaction can’t be fully achieved without His sovereign Lordship in your life.Work hard, give Him your plans, work harder and leave the rest to Him.

HAVE A FANTASTIC 2011

Naturally

Mama Mich

(And I choose) to be the best that I can be… can’t get the song out of my head

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I woke up that cold November morning in 2006, made a few additions to my luggage and started my journey to the Grey hound bus station – I was going to celebrate my first Thanksgiving with some friends in Washington DC. In the Thanksgiving tradition, families gather at a parent or older relative’s home to share in a sumptuous meal. The bus station was crammed and busier than an ant colony. Ticket queues were so long and the lines leading up to the gates where crisscrossed, it was hard to tell them apart. The Philadelphia highways were clogged for miles, somewhat like Kampala on a rainy afternoon only on a much larger scale and more organized. The journey I had planned for 10am eventually started at 1pm. Everybody was making their best effort to get home in time for the holiday. I saw a mother with several kids all under the age of seven and on their best behavior. In case anyone got wiggly, she gave them a look that made whatever was bothering them magically disappear.


The Thanksgiving holiday in America is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November - a tradition that started centuries ago. Pilgrims fleeing religious persecution, left England in search of a “New World” one where they would be free to worship God as they saw fit. They arrived at Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621 but because of a harsh winter that year, they suffered and many died of disease and starvation. The Native Americans welcomed them, taught them how to farm and the next year they had a bountiful harvest. To show their appreciation, the pilgrims cooked lots of food and invited their Native American friends to join in the celebration – to thank God for bountiful blessings. In 1789 George Washington made the first Presidential proclamation declaring Thanksgiving a national event. Then in 1863 President Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday of November a national day of Thanksgiving.

It’s not Thanksgiving without a turkey, so while chicken die like a problem on Christmas and Easter in Uganda - turkeys suffer the same fate over Thanksgiving. They stand a better chance in America because every year some turkeys are pardoned and left to die of old age. The turkey is traditionally served with cranberry sauce which is the one thing I didn’t quite appreciate on the Thanksgiving menu. Cranberry sauce tastes like sour jam, so eating it with turkey took getting used to.
When I was told we were having pumpkin pie for dessert my insides cringed, I never imagined pumpkin as a desert but I was pleasantly surprised. It’s really tasty and nothing like the pumpkin I was thinking about. So, baked turkey with stuffing, a little cranberry sauce on the side, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, corn (maize), pecans, and marsh mellows and it’s a Thanksgiving feast for sure.

On the morning of Thanksgiving, parades march in procession on the city streets. The most famous being New York City’s Thanksgiving Day parade presented by Macy’s department store. It attracts some 2 to 3 million spectators along its 2.5-mile route and draws an enormous television audience. It typically features marching bands, performers, elaborate floats conveying various celebrities and giant balloons shaped like cartoon characters.

After Thanksgiving there is an eager buzz about Black Friday. Judging from its name I thought something terrible was going to happen - apparently not. Black Friday is one of the biggest shopping days in America. It’s considered the unofficial start to Christmas holiday shopping and department stores slice their prices. From about 4am, parking lots are filled and endless queues of people brave chilly temperatures outside the stores of their preference. When the doors are opened there is a mad dash for items - customers literally shop till they drop. So, Friday is only black for the police because they have to deal the large crowds of traffic moving in and out of shopping malls and department stores.

Even though the events surrounding Thanksgiving are commercialized and the reason for the season is lost in the feasting, it is good to have an attitude of gratitude.

Happy Thanksgiving!