The love of one's parents

The other day, I caught a ride with a boda boda. A boda boda is a bike with a cushy seat on back. The driver peddles, the passenger sits above the back tire (btw- a piki piki is a motorcycle, and a tuk tuk is a three-wheeled vehicle that is a little smaller than a golf cart).

Anyway, I usually end up chatting with boda boda drivers as they peddle. We talk about babies, AIDS, streetkids, lions, sunny weather, surly piki piki drivers, road injuries, wheels, vegetables, marriage, why I don't have a baby ... you get the picture. As much as I like to talk, they like to talk. It's wonderful.

So the other day, I hop on the back of a boda boda (I realize this may be hard to picture, so I'll look for a photo). And I get settled into my seat when the boda boda driver starts to peddle and says, "You know, I was thinking..." and here he paused.

"Yes, what were you thinking?" I asked. Keep in mind that me and this guy met 30 seconds ago and he's talking to me over his shoulder.

"I was thinking about parents."

"Cool. What were you thinking about parents?"

"I was thinking about you mizungu and how you are over here in Africa and then I was thinking about how you don't have your parents and how your parents don't have you." (Mizungu means white person)

"..."

"Because your parents are someplace," and here the road got bumpy and a little noisy so he had to kind of shout back toward me, "YOU HAVE PARENTS, YES? And the love of the parents IS THE MOST IMPORTANT LOVE OF ALL. YES?"

At this point, I'm speechless (this happens once every 11 years). Where is this coming from? Who is this guy? I keep listening.

"...and there's God. God's love, it's of course important. But God speaks to us through our parents. So really it's all about the parents. This is what I was thinking. What were you thinking?"

"Well. Umm. I was thinking about how I forgot to put on sunscreen. But now I'm thinking about my parents. And I'm thinking you're right," I said. "I'm thinking I should call my parents and say I love them."

And then he dropped me off. And later in the day, I took the hint and called my mom. And I asked her if she was pissed or thought I was selfish for not living in Illinois and instead living as a mizungu in Kenya. And she said no. And I made her confirm that she's cool with my life choices. And she confirmed. And then I told her I think she and dad are pretty incredible... in not exactly those words because while I can type it to the world I somehow have difficulty saying it to them. And she told me the line kept cutting and she couldn't hear what I said. And instead of screaming my love for them, I said, "Ok, well doesn't matter Ma, the phone line sucks and I'm tired. Gotta Go! Bye!"

But I do think they're incredible and I love them. And I think it's funny that it's take a boda boda driver in Kisumu to get me to say it.

Shannon