Now is the Moment

NOW IS THE MOMENT

Years back my maternal grannie resembled a lofty lean damsel ready to conquer the world but not anymore; age has since engulfed her making her seem small and laid-back.

She now sits close to the wide kitchen-window on her brown wooden armchair with a floral cushion stack on it. And while perched there, she leans forward and dimly notices the passers-by and makes remarks about them with a stray thought about the cup of tea at the base of the chair close to her feet.

Over the years, I have continually looked forward to watching her preoccupied face with the morning light gracefully reflecting on her tanned and wrinkled skin and eyes that belie her eighty years; plus the laughter lines on the forehead that coil effortlessly when no one is watching. She’s simply a dazzling woman!

For the last 15 years, grandma has constantly sat there, on the same old chair, watching the same old passers-by and hilariously enjoyed every moment of it like it was shanking new.

We recently held a get-together to mark her 80^th birthday and of course devour the toppings that come with it if you know what I mean_ she was astoundingly thrilled.

You should have seen her cheery face giving instructions and calling out persons to serve her every now and then. As long as you were one of the people strolling around, grandma spontaneously turned you into family and ultimately if your body-frame betrayed you, you were considered a grandchild obliged to tap into her astuteness.

She sang melodiously the old-time hymns picking up every stanza just at the right time; putting enough emphasis on the choruses you’d think time was undying.

The sun was setting-in dimly into the hills with striking rays cutting through the unruffled crowd and threads of light lingering in the sky. Everyone was full and satisfied having had their kind of fun; ready to give out their goodbye embraces.

It was a beautiful day; certainly one that I remember with a smile, gratitude and hope for better things to come.

“Grandma, if you can be any age, what age would you be?” a clear voice oozed from the kitchen; too vibrant it almost scattered the crowd. It was one of her grandsons packing scraps for breakfast the following day but still following the debates outside.

“That’s a difficult question” grandma said. Sounding not too confident about what she was about to say.

“It is indeed a difficult question only because I was in a race to get though life; many of those years are fuzzy_ but I loved being 65 years because that’s when I finally learnt to pay attention to the present”, sheepishly smiling she affirmed.

And since then, she continually nurtures a non-judgemental awareness of the present and a smile that never seems to fade away.

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I can only pray and hope for an inch of her free-spirit because I certainly need some. For we cannot rewind the past or even predict with precession the future, but we can undoubtedly take charge of our present moment.

And one by one we embraced and bid her goodbye then she returned to her spot of laughter and continued watching the same old passers-by and hilariously enjoying every moment, because every moment is new and should be enjoyed as it is!

Mwende