Happy Mother's Day to the kindest mom. P.S. Your kindness annoyed me when I was a kid

Bertha Ngumbi (right) with daughters Esther (left) and Faith. Family photo hide caption toggle caption Family photo Bertha Ngumbi, my sweet mother, is one of the kindest women I know. But when I was a kid growing up in Kenya with four siblings, her kindness annoyed me. My siblings — three sisters and one brother who has passed on — say the same thing. My mother always made us prepare and serve black tea to every person who came into our home. It did not matter whether it was an expected or unannounced visitor, a close relative or someone passing through who was a stranger to us kids. And if unexpected visitors showed up during lunch or dinner, my mother would invite them to join us and ask us to serve them. Not only that, an additional guest at a meal would mean less food for everyone. My young and selfish self was not happy. My sister Faith reminded me that our mother would actually make us children leave our meal and go prepare tea for the visitor. She too hated those visitors. My sisters said they think some of these strangers took advantage of my mother's kindness by showing up at meal time. Faith remembers how she was especially annoyed on days when we did not have enough firewood or it had rained and the firewood was wet — which made boiling water for the tea more of a pain. My change of heart Years later, as an adult living and teaching in the United States, I have a different perspective. My mother's kindness had a powerful impact on me. …