Bliss is time with the kids

Last weekend, I went home to receive a lovely surprise. My sister insisted that I should visit her and I did, not knowing why she was so excited. I can be receptive of surprises from time to time, but mostly the ones I do not anticipate.

Unfortunately for me, I saw the surprise from a mile away; thanks to my sister. She would not tell me anything, but I knew I should go and see the children. She has the tendency of making me do things without knowing that I am doing them.

Under normal circumstances, I would have ignored her and gone ahead with my weekend plans, but she can manipulate me into almost anything, I must admit. I believe it is her ability to work on my guilty conscience.

So, I packed my bags after my Friday morning class and took a bus to town. It is a long journey from Athi River and I was exhausted when I got home.

Zuri welcomed me at the door. I was not surprised. I am pretty used to her running towards me and expecting me to lift her up and turn her around. I then give her about a dozen kisses and tickle her till she is in hysterics.

That went according to plan and it was time for me to look for my dear Ami and give him his dozen kisses as well.

Unfortunately for me, I found Ami asleep and that meant I had to wait for him to wake up so that I could carry him. This was rather depressing as I was really looking forward to playing with both of them.

Either way, I put my bags away and got into something more comfortable and relaxing. It is play time and I do not want to disappoint my niece. She is looking forward to the games.

We love running around and dancing to songs on television as well as playing hide-and-seek and with her dolls.

By the way, did I tell you my niece has a way of counting days? My sister and brother-in law tell me that she hardly asks about me all week and starts mentioning my name either on Thursday nights or on Friday mornings. We have no idea how she knows it is Friday and that I am coming home. But it seems she has a body clock. Amazing! Isn’t it?

Maybe one day when I am in heaven, I will consult God on this matter. Let us just hope I will remember.

Well, back to the weekend. Zuri seems to be in the mood for our games today. So I am chasing her around the house. Of course I pretend I am not seeing her when I can clearly see her behind the door or on the other side of the sofa.

I think it is bliss being a child. One believes in what he sees and hears. No need to be superficial, to pretend or always speculate. One simply sees what is there and believes that all is the truth.

What is more amazing is the human ability to be honest to a child. It is rare for even a perpetual liar to deceive a child. I should be a child forever!

Back to reality; I am a grown up, just out of my adolescence and there is no way to turn back the hands of the clock. So, we play around the house and finally when we are in the bedroom, I hear Ami crying.

It would seem he is awake and there is no one to care for him. He tends to cry when he thinks he is alone and it makes me feel guilty to have left him there. We should have been playing in the sitting room next to him. Well, it does not help to stand and scold myself and so I decide to go and pick him.

Ami is growing into such a handsome boy. He has been slightly underweight which was a bit worrying but I am glad he now seems to be picking up. The amazing thing is that even with his little weight, he can throw a kick and a half.

It is not wise to be near him when he is having a tantrum. He can dislocate your joint or something. I think he utilises all his food and turns it into energy. Maybe that is why boys are so rough and unpredictable; their food is ever being turned into energy. I think boys have too much energy to burn but not enough playing ground for them to do so.

Well, I carry my sweet nephew Ami and I explain to Zuri that playtime is taking a break so that we soothe him. So, I sit her next to me on the seat and tell her to soothe her brother as well. I believe by including her in the process, she will develop a strong bond with her brother and be very protective of him as a result. I believe that siblings should always have a strong bond between themselves, to keep them together through all adversities.

I learnt at a tender age a verse in the Bible that made me appreciate siblings. It says: ‘A friend loves at all times but a brother is born for adversity (Proverbs 17:17). We should, therefore, always encourage siblings to love and look after one another.

In no time, Ami is relaxed and the three of us are watching television together. I then decide to put them on the carpet. I notice it must be their favourite sitting place as they are always on the carpet. In fact, we spread a lesso on the carpet every day and let them sit on it when they are eating their lunch. It seems to really cheer them up.

I am sure you must be wondering what the surprise is; so let us get back to it. I decide to go to the kitchen and drink some water. Just after pouring myself the water in a glass and turning to put the water bottle back in the fridge, I notice some movement from the corner of my eye. When I look in the direction of the movement, I realise it is Ami; he is finally crawling.

Talk about an amazing surprise. I hardly knew the boy could get on his tummy, let alone crawl. I was aware that recently, he had developed a habit of rolling all over the bed and we had to keep an eye on him so that he does not roll onto the floor, but I would never have guessed that he was learning to crawl. I suppose when you go for two weeks without seeing a child, you are bound to find some exciting changes.

I must say, Ami has really made my weekend worth the while. I do not think there is any other news that could excite me anymore than that of him crawling unless of course he suddenly gets on his feet and runs toward me.

END: BL 40/38-39