I grew up under his watch and he is probably the most remarkable man I had the pleasure of knowing. He went to be with the angels exactly nine years ago today. He loved life and the finer things in life. He loved family and he really did hold our family together.
He made sure we had family get together(s) as often as possible and he would sit us down every evening and give us lectures on life. He often said life was like being on a boat and you had to paddle. You could only move if you paddled. For those of you who cannot understand this straight forward analogy, it means you have to work hard if you want to be successful in life. If you sit there and do nothing; then life will just pass you by.
Apart from the love for family, he loved to help people. I think it was his own little way of giving back to society. Strangers walked to his door and he never turned anyone away. He listened and helped where he could and when he couldn't he linked you with a person who could.
One of the things he valued the most was good education. He made sure all his kids (kina mum) all got educated. He said it was the only way to self reliance. To this day; education is greatly valued in my family. I am blessed to have received an education and I intend to pass the same doctrine to my future family.
On top of education, that guy worked hard. He worked hard for his kids and the kids of his kids. He gave us a good life. If anyone thinks I am spoilt then you have the old man to thank. He was one of my father figures and he set the bar pretty high for any guy who would want to be in my life for the long haul. You have to be crazy ambitious and not theoretically, it has to be practical. Despite his age, you would never find him idle.....he always had to be doing something.
He had the money no doubt. But despite the fact he taught all of us the importance of working to get your own money. To take care of yourself before you can allow another person to take care of you. He could spoil you with material things...but he taught you having material things was not the most important thing. Family is the most important thing.
There are days I really miss him. He was very entertaining and he had horrible practical jokes. I remember one time when I was much younger, he called me and convinced me to let him stick together my fingers with super glue.....yea ..I know he was crazy. He actually did it and later struggled to separate my fingers....smh. He was a great cook too. Maybe that is why I am attracted to guys who can whip up a proper meal.
He had this habit of pulling disappearing acts on us. He would leave the house in the morning promising to come back only to see him on tv seated a few seats from the then president moi (he loved politics). I remember one Christmas he made his random trips to the big city under the sun (Nairobi people...Nairobi) and he brought back gifts for all of us. Both his kids and grand kids. For the ladies it was some handbags and a manicure kit (I knoooooow.....he was awesome like that ). Can't remember what the guys got....I was too absorbed in my gifts :D.
He was awesome in so many ways but he was honestly a terrible driver. A ride with him and you would get back home sore.
When he suddenly got sick, it broke my heart.....it broke all our hearts. I was in high school then and I went to visit him once in hospital. It is hard to forget that day because it hurt like hell seeing him that helpless. I remember he saw me crying and told me not to, that he was not doing as badly as he looked. That same day I learnt just how much he loved his wife (Cucu). He kept calling to her and saying how much he loved her. But I must admit the strength of that woman (Cucu) for me came out clearly then.
She visited him every single day in Mater Hospital South B. She made that trip daily from shagz which is in Kirinyaga. I never saw her cry even once. It is not because she was not hurting but i know she did it for the rest of us who couldn't keep it together.
He got out of hospital though on a wheelchair and I know one thing that killed him was having to depend on people for everything. He was well taken care off at home but it was hard watching him like that. I would hear him groaning in pain in the morning when my uncles had to move him from the bed to the chair.... I died a little with every groan. I prayed hard that he would get better. That even if he would end up being confined to that chair he would learn to love life again and make us laugh and make bad practical jokes.
All we wanted was the assurance that he would be the first face we saw when we walked into the compound like it had always been the case. That he would be at his 'office' on the patio.
The last time I saw him, I was going back to school after the holidays or mid-terms....can't quite remember. What I cannot forget though are the last words he uttered to me.....he said: "work hard in school, I will stay here and wait for my Lord." That statement never really sank in....at least not until I saw my aunt at the deputy's office from class and I just knew he was gone.
Can't remember feeling so sad. There were soo many people at his funeral......he was truly loved. I was however comforted by the fact that he was no longer in pain.
Guka you left a huge gap in our lives but i know You watching over us from heaven. You are our guardian angel. We miss you every single day and though it is almost a decade since you left......it feels like yesterday. We learnt to smile through the memories ...... at least we will always have those.....the memories.
MISS YOU GUKA ....MISS YOU DEARLY
He made sure we had family get together(s) as often as possible and he would sit us down every evening and give us lectures on life. He often said life was like being on a boat and you had to paddle. You could only move if you paddled. For those of you who cannot understand this straight forward analogy, it means you have to work hard if you want to be successful in life. If you sit there and do nothing; then life will just pass you by.
Apart from the love for family, he loved to help people. I think it was his own little way of giving back to society. Strangers walked to his door and he never turned anyone away. He listened and helped where he could and when he couldn't he linked you with a person who could.
One of the things he valued the most was good education. He made sure all his kids (kina mum) all got educated. He said it was the only way to self reliance. To this day; education is greatly valued in my family. I am blessed to have received an education and I intend to pass the same doctrine to my future family.
On top of education, that guy worked hard. He worked hard for his kids and the kids of his kids. He gave us a good life. If anyone thinks I am spoilt then you have the old man to thank. He was one of my father figures and he set the bar pretty high for any guy who would want to be in my life for the long haul. You have to be crazy ambitious and not theoretically, it has to be practical. Despite his age, you would never find him idle.....he always had to be doing something.
He had the money no doubt. But despite the fact he taught all of us the importance of working to get your own money. To take care of yourself before you can allow another person to take care of you. He could spoil you with material things...but he taught you having material things was not the most important thing. Family is the most important thing.
There are days I really miss him. He was very entertaining and he had horrible practical jokes. I remember one time when I was much younger, he called me and convinced me to let him stick together my fingers with super glue.....yea ..I know he was crazy. He actually did it and later struggled to separate my fingers....smh. He was a great cook too. Maybe that is why I am attracted to guys who can whip up a proper meal.
He had this habit of pulling disappearing acts on us. He would leave the house in the morning promising to come back only to see him on tv seated a few seats from the then president moi (he loved politics). I remember one Christmas he made his random trips to the big city under the sun (Nairobi people...Nairobi) and he brought back gifts for all of us. Both his kids and grand kids. For the ladies it was some handbags and a manicure kit (I knoooooow.....he was awesome like that ). Can't remember what the guys got....I was too absorbed in my gifts :D.
He was awesome in so many ways but he was honestly a terrible driver. A ride with him and you would get back home sore.
When he suddenly got sick, it broke my heart.....it broke all our hearts. I was in high school then and I went to visit him once in hospital. It is hard to forget that day because it hurt like hell seeing him that helpless. I remember he saw me crying and told me not to, that he was not doing as badly as he looked. That same day I learnt just how much he loved his wife (Cucu). He kept calling to her and saying how much he loved her. But I must admit the strength of that woman (Cucu) for me came out clearly then.
She visited him every single day in Mater Hospital South B. She made that trip daily from shagz which is in Kirinyaga. I never saw her cry even once. It is not because she was not hurting but i know she did it for the rest of us who couldn't keep it together.
He got out of hospital though on a wheelchair and I know one thing that killed him was having to depend on people for everything. He was well taken care off at home but it was hard watching him like that. I would hear him groaning in pain in the morning when my uncles had to move him from the bed to the chair.... I died a little with every groan. I prayed hard that he would get better. That even if he would end up being confined to that chair he would learn to love life again and make us laugh and make bad practical jokes.
All we wanted was the assurance that he would be the first face we saw when we walked into the compound like it had always been the case. That he would be at his 'office' on the patio.
The last time I saw him, I was going back to school after the holidays or mid-terms....can't quite remember. What I cannot forget though are the last words he uttered to me.....he said: "work hard in school, I will stay here and wait for my Lord." That statement never really sank in....at least not until I saw my aunt at the deputy's office from class and I just knew he was gone.
Can't remember feeling so sad. There were soo many people at his funeral......he was truly loved. I was however comforted by the fact that he was no longer in pain.
Guka you left a huge gap in our lives but i know You watching over us from heaven. You are our guardian angel. We miss you every single day and though it is almost a decade since you left......it feels like yesterday. We learnt to smile through the memories ...... at least we will always have those.....the memories.
MISS YOU GUKA ....MISS YOU DEARLY
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