There was no rest for the weary, not in my home at least. After making the 30 plus chapatis, I still had to make the stew to go with the chapatis. My mother made sure there was at least a kilo of meat to go into the chapati stew. That is how special chapati day was in my home.
I had to step up my cooking skills, especially for such a day. I chopped the meat, peeled potatoes, peeled and diced carrots, chopped cabbage and shelled peas. That was the one pot stew that was perfect for eating with chapos. I had learnt early to put my heart and soul into food preparation.
My parents hated food that was not well prepared or pleasantly served. They said a lot of people did not put much thought into food preparation and presentation. Some people over cooked rice until it lumped together like Ugali, then served it in some thin watery gravy. They hated being served in dishes that were dripping wet (minyurura ya maai). Those comments made me realize, there was no room for sloppiness in their kitchen if I had to cook for them. I think I did okay because my cooking received a lot of compliments from my family and visitors too.
I thought my parents were just being fussy for no apparent reason, but now, as a grown woman, now aging, I look back and I am grateful for the training I received at their house. Without realizing it, I have become my mother, repeating her exact words of wisdom in training my children. Why? Because it is time tested training on: Class, Standards and Etiquette. You do not learn those in school, you do not acquire those because you are rich, they have to be instilled in you from when you are young and you grow up with them.
Today, I run my home and my job with the same standards I saw and learnt at my parents home. On a daily basis, I apply the sensibilities I learnt back in OlKalou, applying them to everything I do, be it at work or at home. I have held on to those values because I realized they work for every situation. For what its worth, I am glad for the parents who raised me, semi illiterate and all, but they knew how to live well.
