I AM MY FATHER'S SON

International Men's Day. Which man in your life are you celebrating today?

Today I want to pay Tribute to my father, on this very significant day. I don't think we give ourselves enough credit for our roles as men whether you are a father, a brother, a husband, an uncle, a guardian, a mentor, or simply just a friend. Today is about all of you and all the roles you play for everyone else in your sphere of influence. Take a moment right now to breathe in... and just revel in the fact that you are still here doing you!

The other in one of my very candid posts I asked that we count our blessings by name. I wonder how many of you found something in your life to be thankful for. Did you whisper a prayer of recognition in the realization that you are indeed blessed? I have drummed on for the major part of this year in my various articles about the need to live in the present. It is so easy to miss your own life because you are so busy looking everywhere else but inward. So today, I say again, STOP AND BE STILL! Close your eyes and listen to yourself for 5 minutes. Keep your breathing steady, and try to think about nothing. When you are done, take 3 deep breaths, (in and out) and then get on with the business of your day.

My father and I have what I call a tenuous relationship. I am like him in so many ways and yet I am also unlike him in so many others. So who am I? And why this struggle against myself. My Dad is my hero. But I have never told him that. I like to believe that if we could rewind his life 50 years... which is basically the sum total of mine, the uncanny character that would appear would bear a striking resemblance to my 30-year-old self.

You see, in my eyes, Dad strides the streets of Nairobi like a colossus having swept into military service from the sleepy town of Kakamega back in the day. He would end his service as a Maj. General in the #KDF, having offered the best years of his life to a country that is yet to recognize his true worth. I grew up in the shadow of his so-called perfection because I know now in hindsight that there is no such thing while we live here on this earth. But he set a high standard for his boys to follow. We never lacked for anything growing up and he has continued to be a pillar of strength through our mature years. Helping us to navigate adulthood in the best way he knows how. So today I want to publicly say thank you sir, for your service. We see you, Dad! We will be fine. You have done a great job with us and though we may not always acknowledge it, we do not take it for granted.

When my marriage fell apart in 2021 you were the safety net that caught me and like the prodigal son, you offered me the sanctuary of your home and allowed me to start over.  No questions asked.  At first, I struggled with the heartache of that loss and I would stay in my room all day afraid of confronting my new reality.  I had shut down and completely refused to discuss my personal circumstances with you and still you gave me grace.  I had a roof over my head and food in my belly and that was enough.          

In your efforts to help me reboot, you embarked on a series of farming projects that I then tagged along for. #WambuguApples in Kakamega is one of those. #TheBushyHillFarm Apiary is another. Three years on... What began as a way to settle my nerves and give my life a new balance, now offers us, (his sons), a new economic opportunity. So thank you for always being forward-thinking and for being able to separate the emotion from the fact. Maybe it is the meticulous Logistician in you who is always at work, planning and counter-planning.

I am 52 now and you are 30 years my senior but now we are more like peers and I have enjoyed getting to know you as a man. I am not sure that I have given you the same pleasure seeing that your expectations for us have always been so high. But I promise you this, we will get there. We have the right foundations. You have seen to that. The house will not fall. I think your wife Dorah would be happy if she could see how her children have rallied around their father. How her First Born Son has finally taken his place at the head of the family and is thriving. Michael Murunga can tell you stories from here to Timbuktu about his many escapades. Those experiences have shaped him into the man that he is now and I note with great pleasure that his sons now have access to the father figure that they have always sought.

Life ebbs and flows... and we must learn to roll with the punches. So while it seems that we may have lost our way, dear father, we have not. We have just chosen to take the scenic route. Everyone's journey is different and this is ours. So thanks to you I have managed to rebound. Thank you for lifting me when I could not lift myself by offering me a safe place to land. Thank you for also being my gold standard. The impeccable measure that I can always count on. I pray that I can be that for my two teenage boys plus any other children that I may choose to have or to help raise. I am in a good place now. My business is back up and running even in this bear market, I have managed to get some good work. New work! Respectable Work! So I am happy.

Today I launch one of my new ventures in partnership with Profiles International EA The #ConnectAndChill podcast will be live from 10:00 am this morning. The details of how you can tune in are on the e-poster below. So join in and let's have a conversation about life. Today is focussed on men helping men but women are also welcome to tune in.

Have a great day people. This is #TheSidewalkProphet signing out! Lucas Marang'a, ACC uko tayari? What about you Indimuli Biko ? I am really looking forward to our conversations this morning. Lakini please tell them #Chai kwa wingi... there are some serious #lunjes in the house. Hehehehehe... let me go and get ready! I want to do my 10K Walk before that session starts. See you all later. Peace!