Did you catch that? I threw it!! And
it was Thursday!! Hehehe, throw back Thursday it is. Now, to begin with; who on
earth invented this “throwback Thursday?” Why particularly on Thursday? I thought if
there was a day that one would use to reflect on the past; it should be Monday.
You know, with the weekend past and we did all those things during the weekend
and…never mind. This is not about Mondays and weekends.
Since this is a Thursday and social
pressure (damn you social and peer pressure) has enslaved me; I am obliged to write
this. Now, you are in a train, its speeding past the fields, you are seated alone
at a window. As the train speeds past a dusty town, you stare mysteriously (you know, like they do in movies....lol) out
of the window. You start reminiscing; oh how you miss the past. Memories flash
before your very eyes, your train of thoughts and memories is moving so slow,
you live in the memories once again. See where you are, now, hold that
position. Such is the setting I intended this to be written (unlike where I am
now, in an office full of books; not novels and data waiting for me to analyze
it. *le sigh*).
I miss the old days, the good old
days. Even though poverty was more rampant and food was scarce, I miss the
values that we had. You know, (to the younger generation) the days your folks
or grandparents tell you about when a 10cents (Kenyan cents) would buy you a
loaf of bread, ok not that long ago… days when “bibo” and “juci cola”
were a delicacy, days when the alphabet was taught as it is written, not as
what children are taught these days. I do miss those days, and here is the reason
why;
I miss the days when brotherhood
was the norm. Days when looking out for your brother was your first priority. Days
when if your parents bought you a bicycle, you would rush to the village
(community) kids and exclaim “tumenunuliwa
bike” (A bicycle has been bought for us) and you wouldn’t mind sharing it,
taking turns to ride it. Days when people lived in actual communities and not “gated
communities” where you do not even know and have never seen your neighbor. I miss the days we would look forward to Christmas
and birthdays, because it was a time we rejoiced and sipped juice and bread;
unlike the big birthday parties they have these days, with emcees and all…why
would you hire an emcee for your child’s first birthday? In my days, you
grandpa was the emcee!!
I miss the days when marriage was
respected and pregnancy celebrated; when love was real. You know, days when
people would go through so much (together) and make their marriages work (ever
looked at an old couple and wondered what they saw in each other? I always do),
unlike these days when insecurity, greed and doubt fill relationships. Days when
pregnancy was celebrated, not as these days where you hear “so and so is
pregnant” and the response is “her too? Oh they could not wait?” then the other
will reply “I guess not, but her boy friend will have to marry her now”. Sad. These
days people get married to cover for pregnancies, the world is full of people
who want relationships with no commitment; people who want the “husband-wife”
or “boyfriend-girlfriend” experience, with no commitment. Coz if you do, you
are too serious with life? Sad.
I miss those days when innocence
was celebrated; days when cartoons, animations and comedy was something to
watch with children and laugh about; not some mischievous and evil plan to
throw in some dirty words…I mean, these days even cartoons and animations kiss
and have “friends with benefits” relationships, in our days, only Cinderella
had the privilege to kiss her prince charming! Days when novels were interesting,
not some porn on paper! Days when writers had good content to write about,
after serious consideration and days of writing; not based on a certain
pornographic fantasy they have.
Of all, I miss those days when Christians
had values and stuck to them. Not spend days drinking and the next minute they
are leading worship in church…days when we had “Sunday best” dressing out best;
unlike these days when we use the “…for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance,
but the LORD looks at the heart….” (1st Samuel 16:7) scripture
to defend our lacking clothing at church or anywhere (its good to read the
whole chapter and see why Samuel said that).
And though those days are far
much gone, I strive to re-live them and ensure my children will have a taste of
those days and these memories.
Now, get out of that train (of
thoughts) and continue doing what we were doing. Let’s ensure that our children
have a life they look back at and miss.
Twitter: @deekareithi
Google plus: Dorcas Kareithi
*ION, May the soul of Dr. Maya
Angelou, renown poet and inspiration to writers and poets, rest in eternal
peace*
