Musings of Life: August 2018

Monday, 20 August 2018

NNN Part 2

On 10.8.2018 at 12:38 PM weighing in at 2765 grams God blessed Sylvia and I with yet another gift and we couldn’t be happier! Nathaniel Nduati Njaaga got a baby sister Natania Njambi Njaaga! NNN has NNN part 2. Confusing? Nuh...just can’t make this stuff up. It is the stuff of legends!

My heart is full of praise to our God for this wonderful gift and the privilege of raising a daughter. I grew up without a sister as we were a family of 2 boys and I must say I was clueless on feminine matters till in my early twenties. Our house was what a boys house looks like: organized in a disorganized manner. We knew where everything was and the chaos was beautiful! I am not sure how a house with girls looked like but from my minimal interactions with my neighbour friends (girls) as I grew up, it had some sense of order and organization. Everything used to look so spick-and-span! Can’t wait to see how this pans out with Natania. Mine is a blank canvas, I have no idea what to expect! I can only imagine that there will be a significant increase of family monies allocated to fashion and style or maybe a re-organization of the house, or maybe my fashion sense will improve considerably as I cannot afford to embarrass her! Whichever way it looks like a good ride and I can’t wait. I imagine having father-daughter moments akin to what Flex and Breanna had in the sitcom One on One. I imagine Nathaniel and I protecting Natania from all harm (read boys). I imagine setting the bar high for the man wanting to marry my daughter. I imagine finally owning the perfect machine in my sunset years from the proceeds of dowry (hehe)….I imagine walking her down the isle, dancing with her...I can only imagine! Cue the song…In the meantime, I will be changing diapers, bathing her, dressing her, balancing (try to) affection between her and Nate and doing the heavy lifting that is parenting together with her mother Sylvia. It is overwhelming as it is exciting! Indeed God has been good to me to gift me with yet another arrow in my quiver.

Natania, welcome to this world. As your father, I implore you to love God and seek Him. May you find Him from an early age and grow to fall in love with Him. This is my prayer for you! Your name Natania is a feminine Hebrew name meaning ‘gift of God’. It is the feminine version of your brother’s name Nathaniel. In the Bible, Nathaniel was the disciple of Jesus in whom there was no guile and this is my prayer for you; that no deceit shall be found in you. You shall walk in truth and honesty. This is who you are. Njambi your grandmother, my mother was a strong christian woman. I remember her as a woman of prayer. Many times I would find her praying for us and she would leave the house early for morning glory services. She was a devout Christian. She had a big heart and valued education as the key to success. I wish you could have met her. She had long beautiful curly hair similar to what you have. Her sheer strong will pulled us through the challenges of life. A woman of noble character. I pray that these same virtues shall be found in you.

I pray that you will grow in wisdom and stature finding favour with God and man. Just as Samuel, may you know the voice of God from an early age. Like Deborah, may you defy the cultural norms of your day and may you grow to become a leader in your generation turning hearts to God! May you grow to be the Proverbs 31 woman: virtuous, hardworking, faithful, good, provider, charitable, well dressed, wise, active and all that. I pray that God shall protect you from all schemes of the devil. No weapon formed against you shall prosper. I pray that the angels of the Lord shall encamp around you and protect you all the days of your life from all incidents and accidents designed to harm you. I pray that you shall embrace chastity and like Daniel in the Bible abstain from the King’s rich food and God shall make you 10 times better than your peers. I pray that you shall excel in all that you shall do. May you discover your talents and live out the purpose and calling of God in your life. May you not struggle to find your purpose. I pray that you shall enjoy a close relationship with your brother and dwell together in love and unity. You shall not render yourself and your brother as instruments in the hands of the devil to destroy the family unit. You shall enjoy the fruits of a family united.

As your parents we are just but stewards and custodians of the gifts He has bestowed us. We shall endeavor to be good stewards and helpers of the grace that God has placed in you. May God provide for you all that you need. We pray as your parents we shall provide an environment where both you and your brother shall thrive and become the persons God designed you to be. So help us God!. And where we fail, forgive us and may you always remember that your life belongs to God and He shall direct you and lead you.

Live, laugh and love is one of the best quotes ever written and a good mantra to live by. Looking forwarding to creating memories together Natania! You will always be daddy's little girl and I love you very much!

#MOURINHOOUT

Watching MUFC yesterday lose to BHA was just embarrassing! I have long advocated for Mourinho to be sacked but at this point I am resigned to the fact that he is here to stay...for now. @ManUtd problems are so many I don't even know where to begin to dissect this. In summary, the problem is ED WOODWARD and JOSE MOURINHO!

Ed Woodward: This man is an underachiever. He is all about commercial success of the brand of Manchester United. He has done well to secure deals for United that surpass all other deals in world football. From Chevrolet to Adidas, these deals just go to show the commercial power United has and it is all down to Ed Woodward. Why would the Glazers want to change that when their investment in the club is getting them out of debt?! They are happy with the man and he will stay put. The only problem is that the brand of Manchester United did not become what it is because of matters out of the pitch but what happens on the pitch. United have been so successful on the pitch during the SAF years that they can be dismal on the pitch from 2013 and still make money year after year. Ed Woodward does not realize that if on-pitch success continues to dwindle there is nothing he will do about it and this will impact the brand. For all the brilliance of SAF, he failed to lead in transition. A leader is as good as his successor. He had a strong backing of David Gill the CEO at the time who not only did well for the commercial bits of the club but had a football brain and made SAF tick. He is a football man so much so he sits on the UEFA board. For Ed, he is a banker! The big question is, WILL HE SACK MOURINHO? My take on this going by his sackings of Moyes and Van Gaal, he will only sack Mourinho when he violates the clause in his contract. Which clause? Champions League Football! Moyes was sacked the minute it became mathematically impossible for United to qualify for UCL. Van Gaal was sacked for finishing 5th despite getting the long awaited FA Cup. Mourinho secured UCL football in his first season through the back door, he finished 2nd last season, he will not go anywhere if he finishes 4th this season. Why is this important for Ed? All the deals he secured for United are pegged on Champions League football qualification and bonuses for each qualifying round. Mourinho was not hired to deliver the premier league but to secure champions league football year on year as a short term goal to success. It is definite that United will not win the premier league for at least 10 years post SAF era. We are in year 6 now. Mourinho knows this is what can get him out of the door and so he will make sure United finish top 4. With the squad he has this is possible.

JOSE MOURINHO. From the onset United and Mourinho make the worst pairing in history. United is known for flair and class, Mourinho is anything but that. He is pragmatic and while this could win you trophies in 2004/5, it cannot do so now. This is a new era. The man is so stubborn in his ways that he refuses to see the obvious. His claim is that if he has his kind of players he will win trophies and thus his rumblings about signing players. Yesterday's game at the Amex stadium he had Baily, Lindelof, Fred, Pogba, Lukaku 5 players he's signed at United. They failed him in a big way. I believe if you have 5/11 players you signed then you are well on your way to succeed. This did not happen and will not happen. Why?! Inasmuch as these are 'Mourinho' kind of players, it takes a coach to unlock their full potential. This is where Mourinho for some reason has failed to reproduce. Mourinho created Drogba, Milito, Essien, Lampard, Terry but cannot do it again. He has lost it. My take is that his last season at Real Madrid and his second spell at Chelsea left him a broken man. Those seasons damaged him and left him a shell of his former self. He now doubts his methods, he now exudes anything but confidence. He is constantly unhappy and always complaining blaming something. He needs a good sabbatical. The kind that Guardiola took and Zidane has now. Only Mourinho can turn world class players such as Pogba, Sanchez and even Hazard while at Chelsea to mediocre players when playing for him. The plague seems to even be spreading to De Gea, Rashford, Martial, Sanchez and everyone at United and it is painful to watch the demise of United while rivals are obliterating everyone in their paths. Tough times at United. Is it a crisis? Yes it is and someone with a football brain in the hierarchy of United should stop this rot now!. There have been claims that the players must take responsibility for their performances and while there is some truth to this, I would say you do not lose your talent overnight. The team setup is down to Mourinho and his setup has not been bringing out the best of his players. The brilliance of SAF was that he was able to get average mediocre players such as Cleverly, Welbeck, Fletcher and turn them to world beaters and champions. Arguably the worst starting 11 of SAF's career beat Arsenal 8-2. It is down to coaching and not the players' ability. I mean by the time you are signed up by United you are deemed to be talented enough to represent the biggest club in the world so I do not buy into this notion that players are not playing well. These players are in a toxic environment full of negativity and scrutiny there is no way they will feel obliged to play for the manager nor even the club. They are in the club because they are professional footballers who need their weekly wages. They want out but cannot force their way out and the more they stay in the club the more their value plummets. Pogba is world class everywhere else except at United. It boils down to the manager. The buck stops at Mourinho.

#MOURINHOOUT