The other day I was listening to a podcast that was quite interesting; interesting because it had illustrations based on the lives of animals in it. Those of you who have been following me for many years obviously know that I love animals and especially dogs. For a change though, this illustration had nothing to do with dogs but all the same it had quite a captivating story, and hence my remembering it till now.

It’s been a week that can only been described as a bag of mixed emotions in the sense that many unexpected things happened that have elicited different emotions from different people. For instance, it has been a week of sadness here in Tanzania as we woke up to the news of the demise of one of my favorite politicians, the former Speaker of the Parliament of Tanzania. I had a chance to meet him close to a decade ago when traveling from Tabora to Dar Es Salaam.

The only survivor of a shipwreck washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions. But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had happened; everything was lost. He was stung with grief and anger.

Sometimes when you go to the market to buy groceries you might feel like going back home without having bought anything. This is the case especially because of some of the things you hear people saying. For instance, you hear people talking about where some of those leafy greens are grown; somewhere around a sewer. Then you imagine that possibly whoever is going to cook those greens at home might not wash them properly. When you factor all that, you might not want to eat at all. So it is for this reason I decided to grow my own vegetables.

A friend of mine was blessed with a baby boy just the other day. I’m sure you know that when I say she was blessed I mean she was pregnant and finally gave birth. When I went to see her in hospital 24 hours after delivery, she was still in a lot of pain. Her face was puffed up, she couldn’t walk or sit properly, she was tired and exhausted, was on a fluids only diet and above all, she was still in hospital and not enjoying the comfort of her own bed at home. But despite all that, she was supper happy. And there was her little bundle of joy lying next to her.

Today I’d like to start this article by thanking all those who wrote back to me to wish me a quick recover after finding out I was unwell. Thank you all so very much for taking the time to check on me. I don’t take that for granted. May God bless you loads.