This year, I spent my birthday in a way I never expected.
My wife and I had been invited to a thanksgiving celebration hosted by a family whose six-year-old son had gone missing and was later found safe. What began as a simple invitation became one of the most emotional and meaningful experiences I have ever witnessed.
In many ways, it was one of the greatest birthday gifts I have ever received.
The celebration was unlike any party I had attended before.
Continue reading When a Beloved Son Went Missing →
“Daddy, what’s the colour of our school gate?” Andrei asked unexpectedly, in the middle of a casual chitchat.
“The colour of your school gate is… mhh.” I hesitated because I was thinking of a few colours. But I was mostly wondering why he asked. Recently, he’s been complaining that I don’t take him to school. Last week, I had to convince him over the phone that I had gone to work, and that’s why I couldn’t be there to take him to school. He goes to school after 8am, you see the challenge with that.
“Inaanza na (It starts with) letter P…” he decided to give me a clue.
Continue reading The School Gate →
When you ask those born in the 80s what parenting means to them, it will include a whole lot of discipline and strict house rules. My experience wasn’t different. My mum was one strict lady although she has loosened up a bit over the years.
Listening to other stories, especially from military homes, I have come to understand that my discipline journey in the hands of my mother is nothing compared to what others have gone through. I am talking about being wound in a potato sack and beaten like a piñata. Some are hilarious, others left children with lifelong scars – physically and emotionally.
Continue reading The age of idolizing children and why it is bound to fail →
The maternity ward in any hospital is like an active war zone. Newborn babies with their cries are like bullets flying all over the place. Nurses are the rescue crew, doing their best to get those injured to safety. Doctors are the generals, giving instructions and strategies but not getting too involved, unless very necessary. Mothers, they are the bombs, going off involuntarily all over the ward with every response to a contraction.
Continue reading Not Urgent, but Very Important →
People. Stories. Life lessons