Why I Like Momma Better;
the Daughter Reveals the Tragic Secret
Truth be told, I was the older boys’ favorite when they were
younger. But that is not the case with the dynamic duo, who favor
However, I discovered WHY
(JT and Katie)
ME: Why do you want Momma?
Katie: Momma wipes better.
Me: How does someone wipe better?
Katie: Momma wipes twice.
There you have it, and any suggestions on techniques can go to my dear
friend Rex Miller at rex@spencer-furniture.com
(who has an amazing book coming out next month) and is probably looking for
ideas for the sequel.
One of my favorite parts of life right now is how much the twins love
their big brothers. When JT leaves for school, he makes a big show of walking
to the door and saying `BYE!’ The twins immediately yell `KISS’ and
he walks back and kisses them goodbye.
The way they interact is one of my favorite parts of life.
(Matthew)
They had the official opening ceremony for the computer center on
Friday. Like many Kenyan traditions, it was confusing and exhilarating at the
same time. There were probably a thousand people in attendance.
They had a `tent’ set up ( it was some maize bags tied together)
, and a car battery hooked up to a sound system, and an obsequious announcer
who would say things like `Steve Peifer is now walking towards us’ who
had generally inane things to say throughout the afternoon, which made it
funnier to be there.
The first thing was to plant a tree, which made me miss my friend Mark
Buhler, who did so much to instill tree planting in
They decorated us with something that I can only compare to a Hawaiian lei with an ornament you might put on an ugly
Christmas tree.
Then the stupid moment hit.
Some of the children were doing a dance, and they invited the MP to and
dance with them. She knew the moves, and the kids loved it.
Then they asked me.
Long time readers are familiar with my dancing issues. Instead of gracefully
waving them off, I had this weird thought: Maybe I could pull this off.
And I got up there and danced. And hundreds of kids starting screaming
`Can you teach ME how to dance like that?’ For a
moment,
Actually, when I got up there, for some mysterious reason, the only
dance I could think of was to do something like I saw on Hullabaloo (and if you
don’t know what that is, say a prayer of thanks)
They all LAUGHED at me.
There were lots and lots of speeches. The MC introduced each speaker with `the hope
that their worthy remarks will remain brief.’ This was not to be, but the
speakers were good, with some surprising things to say.
Many people noted that until the computer center was built,
they felt isolated and unknown. Three different people said that they
couldn’t understand why this center was built in the middle of nowhere.
But they all said they didn’t think they were in the middle of nowhere
anymore.
But the best thing the headmaster said was that the ones
most excited were not the parents or the present students; it was the younger
students, because they could see that they had a future.
What a gift you have given to them.
Walter and I went through the center while we were there, looking
for structural issues, power difficulties or any other problems. We
couldn’t find any. We had wanted to make sure it was right before we
continued.
We received notice of funding for the second center this
week. There will be issues as to where it goes, but another school is going to
get a chance.
The world can change if we want it to change. We can be
passive, and allow what has occurred to continue, or we can say `No more hungry
children and no more children without opportunity.’
It’s our choice, and our opportunity.
Your pal,
S
PS. We will leave for the states four weeks from today!
Steve and Nancy Peifer
Stateside Address:
Stateside Mail Address: