Sophie B. Hawkins - As I Lay Me Down

This is one of my favourite songs and I cant help listening to it almost everyday before I sleep. Enjoy the song.

Surprise for Mum n Dad

In July, my fiance' came to my home to officially meet my parents. We Africans take such occasions seriously and when the ceremony was over and the visitors had left, we decided to embark on a surprise we had planned for months on end.

It all started by a phone call from one of my big sisters on the proposed surprise. My mum was turning 60 on August 4th. This was big for us. We wanted to make it big for them too. My dad is 65 and nobody knows the exact day and month of his birth. He says parents in his days never recorded such information down. So we decided to plan for his birthday on the same day mum's was. We couldn't wait for August 4th because the "Meet-the-Parents" was on July 31st and all of us had to travel back to our work places on 1st August. We decided this was a perfect day since most of the family members were present.

All arrangements were made from their clothing to food and finally the cake. A Ugandan family friend was in charge of the cake and trust me, she didn't disappoint us. She made a five-piece cake with two of the cake customized with each parent's age and name. These pieces were the showstoppers as everyone was attracted to the choice of color and design.

It was a little bit tricky getting my parents to sit down in the living room without giving out our secret since they kept on asking why we want them together and seated down. Somehow we did manage to get dad to settle down but mum remained curious so when she reached the door, I had to start singing "Happy birthday to you,...." because she was contemplating heading out since she sensed we were up to something.

The secret was out. They were totally shocked but overjoyed at the idea. They both cut their cakes separately and fed each other before feeding us. It was a moment to be cherished and we all prayed that we age gracefully as they have and one day, our kids may pull such stunts on us. Every body left with smiles on their faces and even as we traveled back to the city and back to our normal lives, we knew we had made our parents' day and all of us will live to remember.

Mum n Dad, we all love you. And even big siz Pauline loved you to death. R.I.P sis Pauline.