Back on the Mama treadmill

Oh it was great to step off the crazy treadmill that is my life for 2 blissful weeks.  I love my life, I know I am fortunate but the pace of it and logistics make it stressful and sometimes over whelming and exhausting.

So off I went all nervous at the thought of leaving my family to cope without me for 2 weeks.   I had organized everything I possibly could and I knew they would cope because they had to.  The flight was OK although I think my tetmodis (meds for mouth) make me panicky and claustro as I often have that feeling when I lie in bed and I am about to go to sleep.   Taking them on the plane and feeling claustro in my seat...not so much.   The SA-Sing flight lands at 6.00am local time and midnight for us.  My gorgeous sister was there to pick me up and driving home to her place felt all familiar.  My 4th time there in 2 years.  My almost home.

I love the heat and lushness of the city.  The cleanliness and safety and organization.   A brief nap was followed by our first of many shopping sprees.   We share a love of cheap crap and bargains so much fun was had at the the 2 dollar store.   Then collecting my niece and nephew at their 2 respective schools.   My niece Lily-Rose is in grade 1 at a local school.  The standard is extremely high with the work being closer to grade 2 and 3 level.   She is coping so well and Auntie Mel is super proud of her!   Had a good weekend in Sing and managed to fit in some walk-runs and a few swim sessions too.  Monday midday we were back at the airport shopping and taking masses of corny photographs.  After a quick 2 hours we landed in Siem Riep in Cambodia.  Our room rate was 120 US dollars a night but we had booked on-line on a special months before and paid R1700 for FOUR night for 2 of us including brekkie.  I was mentally prepared for a dive but the hotel was gorgeous, yay!   We had a local guide for 2 days to show us the sights which were basically a trip up the river to see the floating villages (not so much fun)  and visits to 3 temples which was amazing.

The temples are so elaborate and imagining the logistics of transporting those masses of stone via elephants and laying each block, amazing!   The intricate carvings telling the stories of their Gods and history all done by hand 1000 years ago.   I will post some pics once downloaded.   The markets were brill and very cheap filled with all my hippy style clothing I like.  Restaurants were buzzing and well priced too.   What I didn't enjoy was the extreme poverty and filth that was everywhere.   Picture township poor and dirty with exactly the same looking dogs.   Mauritius and Thailand have the same areas of filth and extreme poverty but they also have the areas of overwhelming beauty.   I loved the temples but being on holiday means I want a break from the guilt of my rich white privileged skin and to just close my eyes for a while and not have that heart breaking poverty in my face constantly.  Do I sound horrible?   I am sorry.  Its hard living in SA and just because we no longer have official apartheid doesn't really mean we don't have apartheid in the form of the majority living in the same shacks and dumps they lived pre 1994.  But this is not meant to be heavy so back to my holiday.

We flew back on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning we were back at the airport to fly off to visit Nina's BF in Bangkok.  What a massive sprawling huge city.  Once again largely poor and very dirty.  We avoided the seedy sex districts preferring ping-pong balls to be hit on tables rather than shot out Thai vaginas for people to ogle at.   Saturday night had us all dressed up and off to The Sky Bar which is where a scene from Hangover 2 is shot.  Such a trendy amazing place but at R200 a cocktail, not cheap!    Off somewhere else for dinner and then back home for a relatively early night to preserve our shopping strength.  We hit a  huge market the following day but the heat and crowding and crazy display of animals for sale made us retreat to the cooler saner indoor shopping areas.   Once again we shopped away buying all sorts of bargains.  

Back home to swim with Viviene's gorgeous 3 boys.  Nina and I LOVE kids, Tertia too.  They are 6, 8 and 11 with a little sister of 11 months.   Well balanced fun kids who were confident and super friendly and just loved having us there.  Monday we returned to finish shopping and Monday night saw us back at the airport.  Knowing I had to return just 24 hours later to fly home was not fun.   I enjoyed my last day in Sing.  It was different this trip.  No bittersweet regret of thinking I was meant to live there, it was to be our home.   I think I finally have that peace and Cape Town is our home with Singapore a distant dream.  I decided to take my temodis 3 hours before going to the airport but wow I was anxious.  Like close to panic attack anxious.  I also had spuitpoep (runny tummy) and the worry of pooping in my pants didn't help. 2 immodiums, 2 birals and 2 rescues made it more manageable and I arrived at the airport at 11.00 with my flight being at 1.25am.  I was too anxious to shop, to eat or browse.  I had 20 Sing dollars left and 20 US and I didn't even spend it.  Couldn't do anything but walk up and down and breath.  The thought of siting in a confined space for 13 hours with the potential of pooping in my pants was not good.  I prayed and prayed and breathed and eventually I boarded and I was fine.   Sjoe!

And now I am home and its cooking and shopping and driving kids and homework and sports and pets and exams are looming.  My dogs ate 2 of my new Woolies outside pillows yesterday and continue to crap on my driveway so I drive in sh*t everytime I get home.  Delightful, not.  My kids are great and Gary did a good job.  A few balls were dropped but I am trying not the let it bother me.  Its now 5.31am and jetlag means I was up at 4.00am.  Its going to be a long day.  I am very grateful I had this holiday and break and tomorrow I start studying for my exams again.  Thanks so much my gorg sister Nina and family for a wonderful time there.  I love you all so much and stay committed to visiting you once a year wherever you might inhabit the globe.  Unless its Nigeria, send me a postcard instead.

4 days till my Eat, Pray, Love adventure!

It always amazes me how you book or plan something so long in advance and somehow time does pass and before you know it, 4 sleeps to go!  I am getting really excited now although pre stress planning and organizing is always killer before I leave.   Gary and I are pretty old fashioned when it comes to parenting the kids.  Because he works long hours and I have only ever worked half day since Rebeka’s birth, I do 90% of the day to day parenting. 

The suck thing is when I am away and my well oiled machine aka home and family have to run on without me.  My parents live 45 minutes away and Mimi has just moved house so is unavailable to help re critters.  I am fortunate that Sofie’s school BF has a most divine and helpful mother Auntie Penny who my girls adore.  The dad Uncle Gabby is loved too.  And then they have their Auntie Tracey who is my identical twin sister from another mother, and father actually.   And finally their big sister Prisca, my heart daughter, who will be moving in for 2 weeks to help with homework and school lunches and pony tails.  Dad does morning and evening snuggles and school drop off.   I know push comes to shove he could and would do more so I guess I just won’t worry.    Auntie Michelle is on backup and doggie crises duty.  Ella ate 6 large plastic dog bowls, 2 doggie matrasses and now the waterproof covering off her kennel.    Might ask Michelle to find her a lovely new home for my Ella…highly pedigreed 6 month old extremely expensive rottie free to good/bad/average home.

 Meals you ask?  I have ordered 2 weeks worth of suppers from a caterer Monday to Friday that get dropped off every afternoon.     I have lists and more lists and I have even made little cash packets with wages for my domestic, the gardener and their tuck money for days when they have sport.  Mellie is ready to go off and do an Eat, Pray, Love adventure with her partner in crime, sister Nina.   Another tough year as life seems to just be and I cannot believe I get to just stop for a bit.  No mothering or studying or running around.  The only suck shitty thing is my overseas meds haven’t worked at all and the pain and spasms continue in a never ending nightmare.    Month 9 in a journey that is very, very hard not knowing if I will ever get relief.   It is a testimony to the human spirit as I remember mailing my sister and Gary in week one saying how research had revealed that irreversible word and I couldn’t possibly be doing this for even a day.  I can and I do and have to and I continue to trust and believe that somehow I will find the answer.   I have decided if I cannot get to a point where I manage the spasms I will start working on long term pain management instead.     

But that’s too a depressing subject.  My plans:  Tuesday is my bday and I am hoping to have a little lunch with a friend or 2 or 5.   I will finish packing and pack too much despite swearing I won’t.    Tuesday night will be an early Spur supper with my precious family and Wednesday I fly.    Sjoe, get nervy at the thought.  I am not a nervous flier but it’s the pre getting on the plane have you remembered X, Y  and Z.  I arrive 6.00am Sing time on Thursday morning, midnight for us.   After a brief nap Nina and I hit those shops!    Can’t wait to see Zack and Rosie my neph and niece.  And Paul my BIL and War-War Nina’s awesome helper.    Oh and Gary’s BF Russel and his cool wife Kim and their girlies.   I will only blog again once I am there.  I promise a jumpy in Singapore, one in Cambodia and one in Bangkok.  Luckily Nina is better than Mimi in taking the pics so I don’t have to leap a thousand times.   Bon Voyage to me…see you all soon!