I showed up every day for last year’s Winter Afrobloggers Challenge. I ran that marathon, mile after mile, stride by stride. I turned at each corner, kept it going, took the straight path, ran up hill. I got to the 21K mark. I was still strong. My mind was focused. When I got to the…
Category: Life and People
Unplanned Thoughts
My workplace has an internal blog dedicated to Covid_19 experiences. It’s a place where staff let their hearts out through stories. I like it. I sit at my table having yoghurt, grapes and apples (because I want to keep the doctor away) as I read the feelings of some people like me living alone and…
Boom Boom Cha
When I connect to the public WiFi, I find two missed calls from Larry. I’m distracted by a baby girl who’s running towards me. She’s about two years old. Her long flowing hair the color of clay is tied into a knot with a ribbon. “Alena, Alena,” her brother calls out. He’s running after her….
Day #17: Best Advice (so far)
I’m rumbling on and on about how unsure I am of the things I’m doing. I tell him I’m afraid. “I’m scared,” I say. Things don’t seem to be going my way. The waitress places a cappuccino on my side of the table and for him, an espresso. That’s how he likes his coffee. Bold…
Oh, This App
There are people you’ll meet and have no conversation with. You’ll be strangers. No words will be exchanged between yourselves. Silence will slice through the air. You might want to say something, but you’ll second guess everything. You’ll not be sure whether they’ll want to hear anything from you anyway. So you’ll stay quiet and…
Note to Self
I have been attacked by a bug I’ve been running away from. It has come at me with the force of a tornado ready to strike me off the surface of the ground. It wants to swirl me into a world of physical insecurity. It’s a bug I didn’t want to come close to. I…
A Final One for 2019
Guilty as charged. I’m waving a white flag as I raise my hands in surrender. I’m on my knees. Please don’t pull the trigger. Don’t unload that flurry of lead bullets on me. It’s true. I’ve broken hearts before. I’ve dropped the bomb and walked away leaving behind an impenetrable cloud of smoke like a…
Thirty
You’ll wake up on your 30th birthday in a hotel room. It’s a Bed and Breakfast lodging close to the Central Station. You’ll reach for the switch and turn on your bedside lamp. Your white sheets and duvet will bounce the light around the room. You’ll squint, stretch your arms and let out a morning…