Photo Stories

On the right side of the church's entrance was a cute little poster that sat on a wooden stand with flowers on it and it read, 'Welcome to our happily ever after.' As I would notice with guests later on, a glance at those words seemed to better everyone's mood - it was a very chilly morning. With a grin on my face, I walked past it and into the church.

As I hugged my fellow ushers in greeting, my eyes caught the beautifully messy floor. The bride had just walked down the aisle when I arrived - the wedding's location was a place I had never been to and I miscalculated the time it would take to get there from town. 

Up until we headed to the reception, I occasionally stared at the floor, at the flowers that spoke of commitment, companionship and dreams fulfilled - I usually assume that every bride was once a little girl who dreamed of an aisle moment.

In all the weddings I have attended, there's always something that makes each of them unique - something that stands out. For instance, in this particular one:

- The newly weds were older people with kids.    And after they were united in rings, one of their daughters read them a touchy poetic speech. The part I remember is something in the lines of, 'It's been great witnessing the love between you two over the years.'

- The bride and groom are gym rats and in attendance were their gym buddies. During gifting time while they all matched foward to present their gift, the DJ played them a 'workout' song and they did a 'squatty' dance. Maybe it's because I am into fitness but isn't that so cute? - when your tribe shows up!

- One of their family friends gifted them a fully paid family vacation (the newly weds and all their kids) to Malindi or Watamu for 3 nights, so thoughtful right?

- Almost all the service providers were young fellas, especially the crew of photographers -they all looked 25 and under. I guess it's safe to say a big percentage of Gen-Zs are embracing self-employment which is great.

                         

We had a 3-day ushering gig in Westlands and this street was my route to '62 Inspo Hub' for the three days. The mornings had me rushing to arrive at the venue in time so I loved the evenings more. I would intentionally reduce my pace just to have a little more time to take in the beauty of evenings - street lights, flashing headlights from cars, tall buildings that look aesthetic at night and the moon. I have always loved evening walks, I find them therapeutic. If safety wasn't a concern, most nights would find me outside walking along streets, isn't everything better at night?

An Africa - inspired wall piece. Some people are so good at what they do, yeah?

This is one of the beautifully crafted wall pieces inside the '62 Inspo Hub.' In case you are wondering what kind of gig this was, it was the launch of a collaboration between 'Vitendi' and 'Antarc' - two companies that deal in different kinds of furniture. For the three days, they showcased their (new) products to lots of customers and potential buyers who walked in. You should check out their socials, they sell really good stuff. 

Since the companies are owned by Hindus, the meals we had for the 3-days were purely Indian. It was interesting to consume foods that have never interacted with my gut before - the chilliness in their dishes is something else.

I don't know if it has anything to do with their dishes but a good number of the guests were old hindus who looked so strong for their age. There's a particular trio that's hard to forget about - three elderly women who were dressed in very elegant sarees. They walked slowly and carefully but on their own - I observed them and I couldn't help but think, 'That must be what it means to age gracefully.' They didn't talk so much but smiled broadly at anyone who caught eye-contact with them, it's like they knew what a beauty they were! Whatever relationship they had amongst each other was evidently full of so much love - they wouldn't let the lift close before they all fit in.

On 10th October, I went for a Mazingira - day run with my running club at 'The Nairobi Arboretum.' It was my first time being in this place and I would definitely recommend it if you want a chill place to hang out - alone or with friends. Entrance fee is 100/=.

Earlier that day, I had spent a little time with my friends while we took passport pictures for the greencard application. And then I had a virtual meeting concerning an upcoming event in which we were going to usher in. And when I arrived in the arboretum safely, I was happy because there is a joy that comes with navigating new places.

 After the run that obviously raised my mood, I interacted with some cute lady and we walked our way back to town as we got to know each other. You know why I am saying all that? It's because my day ended on a very scary note - just when I thought I had had the smoothest of days. 

I was walking the rest of the way home after I alighted in Maasai lodge, Rongai. You see the way you sometimes cross the road when one lane is clear but the other one isn't? I did that and this driver was kind enough to stop so I could pass. Touched by the small act of kindness, I tilted my head to face the car so I could make some kind of 'thank you' gesture. It was a quick one, I mean I didn't pause my steps entirely and just as I made my last step to the other side of the road, I came in collision with a bodaboda that was rushing from the side. His helmet fell to the middle of the road cause he wasn't wearing it and his bodaboda lost control a little bit, the rider looked a little tipsy.Terrified, he quickly rushed to pick his helmet and then fled off without a word. Meanwhile, I stood still, scared shitless -I  neither fell nor destabilized but my mind was in a haze.I remember someone helping me pick my glasses and I don't know if I was able to thank him. I didn't even look at the car's driver but he/she didn't move until I walked away, I guess they waited to be sure that I was okay. If I had fallen back to the road and if the car had moved an inch, everything could have been so much worse. 

Now every time I want to cross the road, I think about that scene and it makes me hyper-vigilant.

This is Lily Lake in Karura Forest. I had gone for our end of month morning run and then I stayed longer to journal and read a book. It was my third time in Karura but I had never been to this lake - I bumped into it while leaving.

You can't see it in this picture but there is a sitting area to the far right - looked like a perfect spot to savour some hours of solitude. Or somewhere to sit with your partner so you can admire each other in silence and maybe steal some kisses.

On this day, I was out with my girls for dinner. It was my best friend's birthday and what she wanted more than anything was good views. We ended up in another restaurant whose name I don't remember, but this is 'Jenga Jungle' in Westlands. It's a good spot, only that they were closing early and we wanted to hang out for hours.

I earned myself a banter that I won't ever get away from - and that's why I will always remember this night. I am even laughing thinking about it, heh!

I had taken my nieces for a fun day-out and my best friend's brother brought his daughter too. As they painted, made slime and had their kind of fun, we played Scrabble. It was my first time so I got to know the basics. You see those things we say we love but we never really do them? - mine is board games. I will do better!

We were just past Kibera (from Lang'ata) when my dad's car broke down. That weekend, my parents had travelled to Nairobi for my brother's graduation which went well. This was the evening of 27th July, around 7pm.

Our last born's prayers' day was on 28th so we were travelling that evening, trying to play safe so we won't get to his school late for the prayers. The plan was to spend the night at my brother's place who lives in Bomet (yes, I have a lot of brothers) and then the following day, we will all head Kabianga School in Kericho.

We had debated a lot about whether to travel that evening or the following day at like 4am. Aside from the fact that it was hard to say goodbye since it was a rare family re-union, we started the journey late because we were undecided. 

As my two brothers and dad tried to figure out if they could fix anything on their own, a guy passed by and looked concerned so he engaged them. He was carrying a gas cylinder and that's when I knew that something so insignificant as a gas cylinder can help you judge a random stranger - he looked like someone who has a life as opposed to a con. He said he was a mechanic and the garage he worked at was located somewhere close but since the car couldn't move at all, he said he will go fetch his crew in a few minutes. We had our suspicions about his intentions but we didn't have so many options since we were in the middle of nowhere. My dad asked me and my mum to stay in the car while him and my brothers stayed vigilant outside.

True to his word, the young man didn't take long before he returned with a couple others.They scrutinized my Papa's machine and told us it needed to be towed to a garage because apparently, you can't do any major repairs on a highway - it's against traffic rules. That's when we decided to cancel our journey. We called my uncle in whose house we had all been staying for the weekend and he sent us 'his guys'. While we waited for them to arrive, the other gang helped us put up warning triangles and told us we should be grateful the breakdown happened in that spot because anywhere past that is so unsafe especially at night and they didn't leave until our rescuers arrived - turns out they were genuinely good people.

Several minutes later, my brothers and I were sitted inside my dad's car which was on top of a tow truck and I have never felt so high. My uncle picked us up in Lang'ata and we all got back safely. A few hours later, we were up and leaving again, this time round with my brother behind his wheels.We travelled without any hiccups and had a good time with our little brother. 

Gratitude isn't always about everything that went right. Sometimes, it means being grateful for the times God saved us from the dangers we couldn't see - and he does that more often than we will ever know.

The kind of pictures I take when I am home - are your parents really African if they don't invest in a flowery homestead? 

Every time I look at such flowers I wonder how it feels to embody so much beauty and to never be aware of it, like never!

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