For GG
Birthdays: A time to renew our vows with ourselves, to reflect on our internal musings, our journeys, the pain through it all, the laughter, the serenity. A time to celebrate us. Just us. A time to allow ourselves be anything we can ever be, even if it is just for that one day each year. A time to be proud of our battle scars. A real time.
Well, I’m not used to writing birthday tributes, mostly because I feel I’d lack enough words to describe a person. Deep down, I believe that everyone is a little bit too much in a good way. So full of potential; a well of happiness and drawing from that well with my undeserving words would be inappropriate.
But again, “Happy Birthday. Have a blast”, have become a cliché. They fill my stomach with sulphuric acid. So:
Dear GG,
I hadn’t thought of writing this, not because I lacked words; just that you’re too much in one person that I didn’t know where to start. But again, I am a writer. An opportunistic one in this case. Can I ever have enough ink to describe the whole of you? No.
To start with, who said still waters run deep? I guess that person has never met you. I now have grounds to put them at fault. You’re nothing close to still, but your depths are something else. You are a deep person, and in case you don’t know who a deep person is, click [Deep People][1]
The first time I saw you, I was so scared I promised to keep our communications official. There was too much ice between us so to say. I felt cold. Lost at times. I struggled to avoid your stare at me, something you did a little much too often. But hey, look at us now! Laughing out loud like there is no tomorrow; at all the simple yet overlooked things that life has to offer.
I must admit, you melted the ice way too fast. Oh, how great it feels to feel the warmth.
I wake up each morning (even the ones that I didn’t want to), promising myself that I would sulk the whole day with eyes on the clock. Most times, those days have turned out to be my brightest. From the time you accused me of asking very hard questions, we had our very first ice breaker. In case you don’t remember, here’s a replay:
Me: “Hey G, I have a question.”
G: “About what?”
Me: “About…”
G: “Wait! Wait! Wait! Don’t ‘say me’ hard questions. I don’t know the answers.”
Duuuuuuuude. What on earth do you know? And what the hell is say me?
I suppose I didn’t tell you it’s supposed to be ‘don’t tell me’, or ‘somebody told me’. Neither ‘somebody say me’ nor ‘don’t say me’. Dude, how can I say you?
But again, I know what you know. You know answers to matters honesty, openness and reality. You know answers to the heart. You speak to my mind in ways unknown to you.
The first time you showed pictures of your family and home, I was shocked. I felt welcome, like you were slowly letting me into your inner circle. No one has ever done that. At least not that quick. Looking back now, I feel like I am part of them now. I almost feel like I have raised your elder son. And to think you suggested I date him blows my mind away. Aha.
I look at you every time and laugh, at least when you’re not looking at me. You’re incredible; a lighter version of my dad (My dad is endowed with melanin). I reminisce of all the mornings you passed by my office:
GG: “Good morning madam.” (Remind me how I got this title)
Me: “Good morning.”
GG: “You okay? Everything okay?”
Me: “Yeah. I’m okay.
Then you’d whine about the heavy rains, your flooded house that you refer to as a residence, about lousy Mondays and dragging Thursdays. Of evenings you made cabbage and dozed off in bed with your laptop. Then you’d say;
GG: “Say me something before I go.”
For Heaven’s sake, say you what?
But then again, thank you for being the light at the end of the tunnel. For being my person at all times, even when arguing about the intensity of hell fire. Thank you for being real.
Today, I plucked a flower along the way; blood-red petals that widened towards the tip, bright yellow stalk with few pollen grains. I am not a flower person but looking at that flower made me smile. It was beautiful. Breath-taking. And you know what came into my mind? You.
Probably you didn’t know this, but as I gave you that flower amidst applause from everyone else, I realized it was the perfect gift I’d ever give to you.
So, on your big day that you too are excited about it, allow me to say happy birthday to the only person that can tell whether it is raining or not without bothering to check outside. How you do that, I have no idea. I wish you endless happiness, renewed strength and an even more attractive charm. I hope your prayers get answers, dreams come true and the desires of your lifetime be fulfilled.
You’re adorable.
Happy birthday GG.
PS: Get to learn more Swahili words. I’ve lost count of the times I have lied straight to your face in Swahili.
