Grandmothers Day

I remember during holidays, I used to join my cousins Paul Otido and Soita at grandma's place. We used to look after the cattle all week long, the best part of it being the bull fights and how our favorite Nyundo, used to rule whenever we could take the cattle to the river. On a certain occassion, immediately we returned the cattle from the river, we usually found launch ready, a delicacy of 'mabwondi' sweet potatoes and 'sturinky', black tea. Grand ma' would help in tying the animals while we enjoyed her cookings. But on this occasions, one of her own bulls maritati turned against her and threw her over its back, she was wailing and I remember my uncle mark running to save our grand ma.' I was greatly depressed as a young boy, I thought my grand ma' was going to die. but thank God she was a very strong woman.
Being young and clumsy, I loved hanging out with my cousins. In most cases I could spent the night at akina Paulo's place & just come back to her place to take breakfast. This was not surprising by the fact that my cousins were my contemporaries and we had a lot in common. More so, at least their I could eat mandazis and chapatis occasionally. However, grand ma' loved it when I slept by her side. However, I didn't like sleeping by her side. Her snoring was too loud and unending, the prayers were full with the 'riswaaa' punchline, with saliva jumping over to me. Plus I usually wet her bed and she could wake up in the morning furious and lamenting. I did not want my uncles and cousins to know this but I was a little kid had no option but to abide. Whenever i wet her bed, for following night she could prepare an animal skin for me as my beddings, but since i loved drinking a lot of milk before bed time, I could not fail to wet animal skin also.
On sundays she always woke us early in the morning prepare tea and head us to church. She was well known, a soloist and a drum-mist. On such occasion she always stood to testify how God was gracious because of us her grand children. In fact she always had song items to present and on this special occassion, she invited the grand children to join her. You can imagine, the ordeal singing a song in which you do not know the lyrics and the drum beats consumed our voices.
On most sundays the service was an outreach programme. It could often begin in the market centers with a word of prayer. We could form a line with grand ma' on the forefront. She led the song as we moved a long with other church members singing and going around the village homesteads blowing the trumpet of Christ. She was a talented soloist and drum-mist. I still remember this episodes clearly and I really wish at such like times technology was as it is now. I could have recorded these events, and you could have loved to see my humble background.
That was the best part of my childhood spending time with my sweet grand ma'. Being washed with a stone, you can imagine the friction, but she believed that that was the best way to remove the hard stains. Bathing became an ordeal that we wished could never reach on each single day. But I miss those days, I miss the adventure, I miss her. RIP grand ma' rachel, I know you are in heaven, that am sure you are. and just as you always prayed that we could grow up into God fearing and responsible men, God is our witness, we surely will meet in heaven. #happymothersday