THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL

“Girls! You better come and get your lunch soon or it will get cold. Oh and I will not call you again.” Shiro would shout from the top of her lungs calling my two cousins; Mary and Ruth, my elder sister Ann and I. Although she would be shouting, we would only hear a faint voice coming through the metal windows that were still grey since they were not yet painted. We would be playing in what was supposed to become their future living room. Their parents were building a  7 room bungalow.  My 10 year old eyes perceived it to be super humongous. The fact that it was  unfinished made it the best location to play in. Here we would play without being hushed, shushed or being stopped from playing the games of our choice.

Summer days visiting my cousins entailed a strict morning routine of waking up at a certain time, making our beds, having breakfast and brushing our teeth. We would stand next to each other, vigorously scrubbing our teeth with one hand while holding the rinsing water in the other. This would normally be in  blue or green metal cups that would have lost their colour from the  multiple times they would kiss the ground . After some time, they would look like blue or green polka dots cups and the drinking rim would be so chapped that one had to drink very carefully otherwise you could easily cut your lip. After washing the breakfast utensils, we would proceed to the unfinished house and it was play time.

Samsamssin this is an example of the gibberish that you would hear when you passed nearby. If you had the time to spare and listen, the following is what you would have heard”

Cousin 1: “shem shem shim sham”

Cousin 2: “Kasin sin” (while scribbling on paper)

Me: “kashim kashan” (leaving the room)

We would go on and on having full blown conversations which only we could understand. We argued, ordered each other around and joked in a language none of us understood. It being the late 90’s, we used to watch a couple of soap operas that were aired on Kenyan television. The Bold and the Beautiful (Which we referred to as “The Bold”) and The days of our lives were our favourites. Before this, our view of the outside world was mainly influenced by the Nigerian movies and Sarafina VHS tapes that we  repeatedly watched. The culture shock we experienced when we watched mzungus catwalking on heels, driving foreign cars, eating in expensive Restaurants, writing and speaking in English was mind blowing.

We liked recreating their office scenes. One of us would be the boss and the other would be the secretary. I liked the secretary role. For me, it was about being sent out of the room. When the boss; one of my cousins or my sister, would send me out of the room, it meant that I had to catwalk.

This was the highlight of the game!

The catwalk! Our mothers did not wear high heels; apparently they were demonic. A woman wearing high heels and applying the “devil’s blood” on their lips (lipstick) was rebellious and an outcast. Therefore, I had to improvise and walk on my toes. I would forcefully swing my very slim torso from side to side as I walked out of the room. It looked nothing close to what we saw but it felt like it. I felt like a sophisticated lady that got her life in order like the papers I would be carrying in my hand walking out of the room. This feeling was what mattered the most.

Summer 2021 is coming to an end and despite the weather playing jokes on us, many other things were great; people went on holidays and posted fire pictures on social media. Our pupils were blessed with hues from the environment; the flowers bloomed, trees were flourishing and serving us with all types of greens. People’s profiles on social media looked as colourful as ever. Despite Corona being out here, people traveled and enjoyed themselves. Photos of bikini-cladded queens and topless kings on my timeline were incredible. People put their summer bodies on display. What I relished in was seeing the confidence queens and kings were emitting. 

I enjoyed summer! Being in the vibrance of summer, I realised that one of my core values is pleasure. To find pleasure in everything I do and with that, my life has gotten some extra pizazz. I will get more into this another time but I will encourage you to find your core values and to try to stay true to them and your life will feel more fulfilled. For now, let’s say goodbye to summer 2021 and be grateful for everything that it brought with it. In all things we give thanks.