Remember This Day ?

Last week my buddy Frank decided to end a journey we have walked for the last two years in style. When I finally closed my tent business I decided after a conversation with my Dad to repurpose the space I was running the business from. He blessed the idea I had because it was going to take care of his grandchildren in the long run. He passed away in May 2021 several weeks after our chat. I began the project in August of the same year.

My Mzee had passed on but the dream had not. Over the last two years, I have felt like he was still urging me to proceed even in his absence. I guess our loved ones don’t die they just transition into another form. I still feel his approval up to this day and that has helped me finish this project. Thanks baba.

Frank runs Crystal Lighting, a boutique lighting firm that deals with lighting installations and air-cooling solutions. I admire how creative he is with lighting up spaces and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him to anyone looking for lighting solutions whether for rental or permanent installations. If you need a lighting hookup, I know a guy….

So after two years of a labor of love with mjengo, we finally created a nice rustic space that is a dream come true. Frank had his evening where we invited a few pals for a fireside chat that doubled up as a soft launch of the cottage. It was a full movie production with cameras and a producer. He called it crystal clear conversations, picked from his business name. At least that evening confirmed the fireplace we built is functioning well after demolishing it twice. Wee mjengo is not for the faint-hearted. It can give you quite some character development. But it’s been a very fulfilling journey for me.

What stood out for me in completing this project was a realization that came from the most unlikely source. A feature I love from Google is how it reminds us of days in the past when we took photos. Last week Google reminded me of that week in 2021 when we broke ground. It was a  photo of a heap of stones and sand as we broke ground. Now exactly two years later to the day, we have a nice rustic retreat standing in that place. That warmed my heart.

Taking photos of life moments is like journalling only that we are doing it through pictures. Most people journal to see the progress they make. I liked this equivalent for those of us who don’t journal much. Plus now it’s even easier since most of us have smartphones. Some of our phones are even cameras with a phone function so we have no excuse. Capture moments along the way folks. The memories might lift you when you need it hapo mbele.

Whenever I get the notification saying, “ Remember this day?”, I quickly open it and see an image of a day and time that I had forgotten. Fond memories that keep coming up are of my baby sharks when they were small and chubby and now they are tall and lanky kama baba yao. If I am feeling stuck such images remind me of the ground I have covered and so I get psyched up to keep moving. The miracle is indeed in the moving folks.

Completing this project is significant for me, especially because I first attempted one in about 2005 but it stalled along the way and we eventually lost it. My mzee was still in the picture then. We counted our losses, licked our wounds, and soldiered on. Now almost twenty years later we have succeeded in our second attempt. I only wish he was here to pray over it and for me to see the pride in his smile. I now realize that this was a dream that refused to die. It just hibernated for almost two decades and has come alive again. Mzee may have passed away but the dream did not.

Yaani life is funny, never in a straight line, and full of detours. Life is indeed in the transitions. We have to survive on the off-roads and back routes that we often find ourselves in on the journey of life even when we don’t know how to get back to the main road. Staying on the road or path is our job. Where the path will lead may not be for us to know. That is why I call my life a series of God-incidences or God accidents.

Sir God somehow reassures me that someone is directing the occurrences in my life. And that’s what finishing this ka project has done. I was asked by Frank in that fireside chat how I got here and I couldn’t explain logically. I just looked around and murmured, see God. Indeed when the student is ready the teacher will appear. Resources have aligned and shown up to completion almost twenty years after our first try. I guess now was the right time and I’m thankful. Folks sometimes maybe all we need to get unstuck is a memory or reminder and we will be well on our way. What dreams have refused to die for you? and how can you build on them?