The question, (well, more of statement), was nuzzled on my neck along with soft kisses that traveled from my cheek to my collar bone, while I still lay in bed, cajoling with the Sunday sun that was peeping through the drapes.
Somehow, in my history, Sunday mornings have continually served up my most cherished moments.
I love Sundays.
Like this one.
“Let’s go to the Escarpment”
A smile found a way to my lips & another soft kiss followed, my answer was a whispered “Yes” which had me lazily drag myself to the bathroom.
Spontaneity.
I love that. About him.
After a quick mid-morning breakie of fried eggs & peanut butter on toast, we drove to the Rift Valley View Point, along the Nairobi-Naivasha highway, which took us roughly 1 hour 30 minutes.
You will know when you are at the The View Point; it is a colony of curio shops, proudly standing wooden shacks roofed by rusty corrugated iron sheets, with hand painted red and whitewalls, announcing their existence, balancing precariously on the escarpment’s edge on what is seemingly a shaky, frail wooden foundation.
The View Point is always the first stop for tourists on their way to the GRV (Great Rift Valley) attractions, Naivasha, Nakuru, Elementaita (which I highly recommend you visit – if you haven’t)… it offers remarkable panoramic views of the eastern escarpment. (Also, Check this out for a cool panoramic experience of the view point).
With the car parked on the side of the road, we stopped over and took in the wondrous sights (I know I say this a lot, but I really do get star – struck every damn time!).
With my little feet dangling over the edge, his hands around my waist and chin nesting restfully on the top of my head, we beheld the dipping valley below, with Mt. Suswa the dormant double-cratered shield volcano, standing at 2,356 m towards the left, Mt. Longonot , a dormant strato-volcano at 2,776 m with it’s sharp, horn-like peak & tiny Mt. Margaret (called “Ol-Morijoi” by the Maasai) sitting pretty at 2,111 m in the middle, all dotting the landscape.
You will also spot the Longonot Earth (Satellite) Station, as a little white dot in the distance, a little to the left off Longonot.
It felt like those of us who had stopped over that morning were giddy kids, gathered around a camp – fire, listening to folklore told through the whistling of the wind and the jaw-gaping scenery surrounding us.
We didn’t stay long and after I had enough of haggling with David (who owns one of the curio shops) for a stand- alone elephant sculpture, we headed back to dusty, dreary, noisy Nairobi.
I felt the urge to write about this little Sunday reverie, because well, life can seem a little drab and mainly because I suffer the human condition of wanting to share things; thoughts, ideas, opinions.
*****
I have been complaining a lot lately – nasty habit, I know.
Every little thing has been irksome for one reason or the other and in my egotistical human nature, I have foolishly expected everything in my life to be picture-perfect and coupled with the propensity to look at things ever in the negative, it is no surprise that I’ve had a downcast couple of days/weeks.
That short drive was like an elixir for me, a few minutes out in the mid-morning sun, doused in a basket of chill, crisp unsoiled air & I was reminded of a few significant things.
My job, despite its challenges, is a blessing; there are people out there who cannot afford to buy a loaf of bread or put a roof over their heads, & for that, I am grateful.
Life & Love are gifts.
Being alive & healthy is a blessing.
Quite frankly, I shouldn’t complain so much…instead I should learn to embrace the fact that everything that happens in life is a process of Growth.
Even the pain – especially the pain because we grow in adversity.
Pain, displeasure and discomfort; these will build your character.
I feel things deeply; love, pain, joy, sadness…
I feel these emotions heavier than most of the people in my Life; they seem able to move through them by wading but when I look at my experience at dealing, I find that instead of wading, I dive, getting submerged only to re-surface just in time to catch my breathe and take a quick glimpse at the shore, where everybody else seems to be waiting, waiting for me to get over it and just get back.
This time, my getting back was that 1 hour 30 minute drive & forehead kisses & a much needed heavy lunch of Kuku Choma.
I don’t know how he knew that is just what I needed.
Maybe we are that connected.
Maybe by kissing my forehead so often, he has become conversant with every crease and fold and by virtue of this, he has learnt to listen to my emotions even when my voice has faltered and my words have failed.
So, I found that on this particular cozy Sunday evening, while my legs were resting on his able lap, my racing mind had settled into a quiet lull of warm thoughts, filled with a welcoming sense of gentle positivism.
And over the past couple of days, I have discovered that Nature has that effect for me.
Maybe he’s figured that out too.
“You can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one.
Each day is a different one, each day brings a miracle of its own.
It’s just a matter of paying attention to this miracle”.
Paulo Coelho
Ta!
The Art of A 
lovely piece
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