Life before Technology❤️

Do you remember life before the internet?

Nostalgic is the emotion.  To the ones born in the 70s, 80s, and early 90s, the list below will attest the path of your upbringing that somehow enhanced your humble beginnings. Some familiar words or phrases include:-call box, landline, traveling to upcountry, going to fetch water in the river, using shimo toilet, transporting water using a wheelbarrow or donkey 😅😅, receiving letters through the mail, fax messages, money gram to send money, maziwa ya nyayo, playing catch, mailing post cards, milking cows, grazing the goats sheep many kilometers away from home, picking fresh laid eggs, washing the cars, sweeping the compound using the miti broom, cutting naiper grass thaara, going to brewery to buy salt and multicam for cows, cleaning out cowdung, cowdung used as fertilizer, playing outside all day from dawn to dusk, and not being afraid of the dark, going to the neighbors to borrow the chapatis pan, sugar, or salt.  The list is endless.

Family friends showing up at our home unannounced or without an invitation was completely ethical 😅. The random home visits turned out to be the best quality time because they were simply unplanned. Yes, unplanned.

We lived with extended family members from my father and mother side who were the Uncles, Aunts, gukas, cucus, cousins, and cousin wa cousins. We ate together, shared bedspaces, bathroom, cooked meals together, took turns to clean the home, and stayed up listening to the storytellers 😊😢.

Our grandparents, cucus and gukas, were the children video games, cellphones, and storytellers. They took care of their grandchildren wholeheartedly with no strings attached. They shared different stories of their time and what transpired during their times.  Grandparents were generous with vital information and their hard earned money.  Speaking of grandparents, mine were generous and equally shared what they had amongst my siblings.

When my maternal grandfather Stephen Muchiri visited, he called us all to give us each ksh 20. Ksh 20 was a lot of money in the late 80s or early 90s. That amount I would purchase puru called ksl, bofolo or, blueband na kidazi. At the time, I had the purchasing power to buy my friends puru too 😂 I  was considering a child from a wealthy family, which the children treasured ☺️. When we visited upcountry too, guka, Stephen Muchiri, still gave us each Ksh 20 to take back to Nairobi. He words were shoka hii twenty shillings to buy premende kana thuiti 😂😂.

On the other hand, cucu Ruth was a prayerful woman. Whenever she visited our home, we knew there were no escaping prayer sessions, whether it was in the morning, supper time, or when you served her her favorite nylon drink 😅😂. We always fought who was going to serve because we knew there was a task to accomplish once her nylon beverage was delivered. You forget the glucose or bread, and you go back the second,third, or fourth time😅😅 she made sure you said a prayer.

The nylon type of beverage is what they called it was common to the people who did nor drink majani. Nylon was water and milk bolied together, then when served, one would add either coco, milo, or drink chocolate  depending on what was available. The cherry of the drink was a spoon of glucose  instead of sugar 😂. The only times we saw glucose in the home was when cucu wariko was visiting. That glucose never lasted because all of us wanted a teaspoon of it before bed. It was not approved of us to take it. However, we still did because we knew Mother would still buy some more when grandmother Ruth was around.

I had minimal interactions with Guka Gakuru because he died when I was fairly young (12 years old). The mutiple times he visited our home was when he needed medical attention. The other times we interacted with were when we traveled upcountry. From his non-verbal communication, he cherished his adult beverage and baki. He spoke highly how he worked as a peasant and the need for people to work hard to be better people in society. Cucu Waruguru was quiet, though, when it came to attaining higher education, she encouraged people to go to school. Cucu Waruguru spoke highly of how her son , my dad, had attained his degree from the University of Nairobi. Dad was the first generation in his family to attain a university degree. Cucu Waruguru was a strict Catholic and never unwavering with her faith.  When we choose to go to other church denominations, cucu Waruguru strictly chose to attend consolata Shrine. If there was no one available to transport her, she remined behind. My father would feel it was unfair to force my grandmother Waruguru to go where her heart was not settled. There were multiple Sundays we found ourselves attending the early mass to keep the harmony between my grandmother Waruguru and my father😊😂.

Both grandmothers had their own firm, unwavering foundation that was grounded to their own established goals. It did not matter what was going on, but there stood firm to their immediate needs and accomplishments. These were some of the many gifts I appreciated soaking into when we lived with extended family members.

Growing up, I appreciated the grandparents visiting us because I knew I would get some money to go spend at the store and the many stories we would hear or learn about.

Don’t get me wrong, there were wrongdoers, people of different morals though not as hightened like what we see today. You can’t compare what we have now today where your identity is stolen right from your wallet or purse abd you have it!. Before the internet, one had to lose their purse and / or wallet to feel yes, my information is comprised. To imagine your purse or wallet was lost made your back hair shift.

Having experienced all these wealthy memories, truly this could not have been found on the internet. These experiences can not be bought either because my parents choose to create the moments at the time. Looking back as a teenager, I may have treasured afew  pieces of the puzzle because I could not understand, relate why and why we were not just like the other families who lived as a nuclear family!. What these moments have done over the years is allow me to continuously travel memory lane consciously and unconsciously. I would take the moments decades back 100 percent back because it was gold.

We only harvest what has been planted in us. Planting at any time is a great time. It is where and how you plant the tree matters. The trees need to be carefully  watered  to stabilize a foundation and allow growth.

With much love ❤️

~Mimi Waruguru