My Childhood Game

I really enjoyed my childhood, lots of fun, no complications. I played hard and slept well, no insomnia. Occasionally my sisters with whom I shared the bedroom would say I giggled in my sleep or complained that someone was cheating! 

I loved playing nhodo. It involved looking for a set of good pebbles. There was always that one girl who found the best pebbles. 

Back then our mothers liked dressing us in pinafores or dresses with pockets. The fashion pockets were supposed to be used for keeping hankies. Our hankies always had pebbles for company. 

Each girl would look for pebbles .The girls (two- four) would converge and select the best 10 pebbles. Each girl would reserve a `master` pebble.

There were two options of playing the game, one was to dig a small hole, two was to find a paved area and draw a circle. Our mothers, of course preferred option two! 

To determine playing position, the `competitors` would sprint to an agreed place. The finishing positions set the nhodo places.

So in mamu 1 or stage one, all the pebbles would be in the drawn circle or little hole. Then with a`master` pebble thrown in the air, one would using a hand draw all the pebbles from the hole or circle, throw again the bigger pebble into the air and return nine with the other pebble being set on the side. 

This would continue until all the pebbles were out of the hole. If one dropped their master pebble or failed to pull out or return to the hole or circle the correct amount of pebbles, the next in line would play.

One major lesson from nhodo is we need one another. One rarely played nhodo alone. Nhodo encouraged team work and fairness.

Cheaters were unpopular, they stole precious time and before we knew it, our mothers would be calling us to take baths at the end of the day. From that age we learnt  that unnecessary arguments steal valuable time.

Playing nhodo developed motor skills. We did not know that then. We were just having fun,

One had to master the art of sitting well, to balance the pebbles` movement.

The pebbles left mud stains and because some of the pebbles had sharp edges, they left holes in the pockets. Mistakes can leave stains on our lives.

When I see today`s generation always on the computer or watching television, at times alone, I really feel sorry for them. We learnt people skills by playing with others. 

It was never about winning. It was a bonding experience, a learning platform, skills sharing.

There is always so much to learn from others to become a better person. To become better at a game, one just needs to play many times. Even when we did not excel, we did not stop, we continued to play. 

Never give up on what you love, what makes you happy. In the process keep your friends closer!