Nostalgia 🌻

The chat never seemed to come to an end ,it was a long time since the family got together.The family was in a room adorned with colorful curtains that blew,a rectangular table that stood aside,a plastic carpet and an old doormat to receive any feet that came in.It was not so long before my two cheeky,noisy nieces stepped in  whouting,"dabo dabo,ya Bibi na Bibi"(while pointing at my two aunties who had adorned similar looking dresses).Seeing this I felt nostalgic and filled with the longing for my childhood years.


I remembered how I would get off my mother's hands after breakfast and join my cheeky friends.We ran around the neighborhood clotheslines looking for"dabo dabo"(clothes that looked alike). I was a guru in this game just like Robert Kiyosaki on the contrary who is an expert in investment and real estate business. I would ensure my eyeballs see "dabo dabo"before my friend  did, just to give her a painful pinch accompanied by a shout,"dabo dabo ,ile na ile". I must admit that there are days I would go unlucky and get pinched by my colleague instead.When the pinching was too much, I would cry and shout bitterly,"sichezi,sichezi"(I am out of the game)and  run to my mom's laps.


Just as the weather was seasonal so were our games."Chaki mama"(mother and children) is a game we played during school days.There are  those who liked the role of a mother but me , I was always a child so that I would be carried around by my big mama. Ooh yes,we used to prepare our own food.Each one of us contributed a few dollars which would be used to pay for the ingredients we bought.Some of us gave toy utensils,others fetched firewood and others cooked.All in all everyone played their part.The food would be ready but smoke and a little bit of soil could be felt as one ate it.Any way it had no harm  as long as we ate😁.

Hey I didn't say this, holidays were the best,we had other games fitted for the season.Most kids from town would come visit their relatives and refuse to leave because of the enticing routine we had.Before breakfast we all gathered and swept the playing field.It was a big compound in front of mama chumu's house.We would then take breakfast halfway and run to the beach leaving our parents with a tinge of motherly concern shouting "hatachai hujamaliza"(you didn't even finish your breakfast).For us playing was more important than food.We would swim until our eyes turned red,some of us almost drowned but we never said that at home.We would go fishing crubs and other small edible sea animals.Later we climbed the slanting coconut plants and harvested"madafu".


The afternoon session was for playing"uki"(a ball game)One the best players was my late friend-Asha(may the Almighty be pleased with her). We would play till 4:00p.m, break for prayers,   and came back for singing games. We joined hands and formed a big circle then sung;

"Kidege Wenda Wapi,kidege Wenda Wapi,naenda mazishini Naenda mazishini,aliyekufa ninani, aliyekufa ninani, mtoto was kidege motto was kidege, kidege zungukaka ukichoka inama inuka"

That's how fun it was. When the sun took its way home we returned home too full of dust and sweat and sneaked in through the back door so we won't be seen how dirty we were.


Learning was still on even during holidays. It was a must for every kid to attend Madrassa so we had to shift all our games and played during the long break and games time. Ooh, I heard people saying, "kids hate Madrassa".Hell, not me! I really loved Madrassa. Infact we were only punished when late or for breaking some rules just like in school. Madrassa was even better because tricky concepts were taught in our mother tongue for easy understanding. We were taught about courtesy to The Almighty, our parents, and everyone in the society. Most of the lessons dwelt around stories of the great prophet Muhammad s.a.w, his households, and companions.


My mind was still deep diving into my past until my aunt slapped me sweetly, "hey, we are leaving" she said. I got to my senses and walked them out.


If I am to write about my childhood days, I would write and write, I really appreciate those days. Everything was so natural, we played with nature so much. These days kids are obsessed with video games and Television even here at the village, kids play outdoor games once in a while. Generations differ right?

I bet my article has rendered you nostalgic tell me about it in the comments section.