Kindness in excess

Whenever I visit my mother I am amazed at her level of generosity and kindness. Our mothers are the best. They make sure we have enough to eat and to carry home. I don’t know who told our mothers that we can’t feed ourselves wherever we are.
You will find that someone leaving the village carrying a sack of potatoes, a bunch of bananas, a sack of beans, a sack of green maize and two live chicken. The touts especially where one is using public transport will have a field day over charging you on the fare. To add insult to injury in case you are taking connecting vehicles and passing through Nairobi you will have to get a hand cart pusher to take you to the next stage. This is a problem because the hand cart pushers always move at such speed that it is hard to keep up with them. They will probably run away with your stuff especially if they notice it has more value than what you were to pay them. To avoid a situation where they steal your stuff then you need to move at marathon speed in a heavily populated town where there is hardly any room to wriggle left. Matters come to head if you are a lady and you are carrying a baby on your back. You will be crossing the streets knocking fellow pedestrians or even being knocked about as you try to keep up with the crazy speed of the hand cart pusher. You become such a spectacle with a baby on your back and a live chicken or two and a handbag as you dash as if your very life depends on the hand cart pusher you are pursuing. Sweat flows freely down your face and you will be lucky if you manage to keep up with the handcart up to the final destination. Woe unto you if it is during the long holiday when the number of travelers skyrockets. The public service vehicles will show no mercy as they overcharge you for your luggage. I remember one holiday when the public service vehicles crew members insisted that pregnant women would pay for two. December is the worst month to travel and also to carry these products from the shamba which our mothers pack with so much love. You will shed tears and wonder if you will throw them away or you will give them out. Our mothers are so kind. Sometimes I feel that we end up transporting the stuff we get from them at more exorbitant price than we would have used to buy. Moreover, the pressure of chasing after hand cart pushers make me feel that it is not worth it. And when I insist I will not carry anything especially live chicken, I have to contend with one angry mother. Next time I visit you mum, just reduce your generosity and kindness. I mean well but honestly the drama of ferrying the products is too much. The trouble is not worth it.