Rest in Peace Mum

2009-06-10 08:00:00. We got the call, come quick and take her to hospital. On our way we were told, go straight to hospital. And at the hospital we were told, she's left us. And that's when our family's worst ever nightmare began.

The postmortem results showed that she'd had a heart attack (yeah, just like MJ) due to atherosclerosis i.e. the arteries bringing blood to her heart were clogged with cholesterol, hence the heart muscle cells died slowly over the last couple of years due to reduced oxygen supply. Since mum had been quite healthy all her life (and not overweight), it came as a shock for all of us.

Funeral was the other Friday (19th) and it was a really rough ride for the husband, daughters (the one in the US couldn't come however), son and grand daughter left behind. But by God's grace, and the love, support and contributions of relatives, neighbours, friends, workmates and strangers, we are still here, still standing, trying to move on.

So what was mum like? A month shy of her 60th birthday (her birth cert was less 4 years though), she was a retired secretary who took up poultry farming, and had also explored business opportunities in Southern Sudan. She was a strong believer, committed to prayer and counselling the many women she came across in the hood and beyond. She loved to laugh (was the founder chairperson of her chama called 'Mitheko' group) and looked out for the best in everyone.

My best memory of her? When she sided with me and not my high school teachers during Form Four 1st Term open day. I'd performed poorly, mainly because I was more focussed on interschool games. I told her (in my capacity of vice capt) that our hockey team needed to make it to the national finals and that I'd pick up my studies after the ball games. Turns out our team made it to the national final itself, and I got the highest possible grade in high school. And that's what any kid would want in a mum: to believe in his/her dreams.

I'll follow my dreams all the way through, and I know I'll make it. Sadly, she won't be here to share in my success, in as much as she deserved it.

I'll miss you mum. RIP.

ruracio: IPO comes home

With the eldest daughter a certified spinster and having a last born son clearly unable to figure out this love thing, my parents decided to cash in on the only remaining asset, my second born sis, a true measure of the benefits of diversified investment options. Of course, the eldest sibling and myself (being born and bred in the city) voiced our reservations regarding the disposal (considering that we had to raise additional capital to fund the process) but clearly no spoilt urban brats would stand in the way of the biggest payday for the folks.

As the happy couple are away in Obama land, the onus was on the dude's parents to visit our residence and clear the air on what happened to our daughter. So this past Saturday, we hosted an entourage of "Libyan investors" bearing gifts from afar (actually a supermarket along Jogoo Road). In preparation, my mom had lined up a first XV complete with the same number of subs, and the scrum (negotiatiators) had meet long in advance outlining their list of shareholder demands.

Saturday's affair went as follows: All were treated to a sumptous feast, an invited preacher delivered a long sermon, the families were introduced by name, the negotiation teams went into the living room to thrash out the details, sodas were then produced, and final prayers sent the guests home at night.

Now due to the afore mentioned reasons, I was not allowed anywhere near the consensus talks. But intimate sources reveal that the visitors had expressed gratitude on the warm reception, and after outlining their motives which did not raise opposition, proceeded to leave a 'female goat' behind as a sign of their commitment. A initial listing price was then agreed regarding the number of shares (goats), and the visitors also took a list drawn up of other 'licence requirements' necessary for completion of the deal, to be paid during the next meeting.

So is going public a viable option? Of course the advantages are numerous. The two families stand to gain in terms of social status and networks (I definately think our family will gain more than our fair share) and there's also the circulation of capital in the local economy (we gave our hard earned money, which fed the guests, who had carried gifts, which were shared out among my mom's friends who had worked hard to prepare for the day, and in the local where my dad and his friends would reflect on the new venture). Sadly though, I'm yet to see how I'll be compensated for the emotional trauma of losing a sister :-(