Summer/Winter

 

 

 

We've had an epic Summer/Winter as the boys and I travelled to South Africa for 6 weeks to visit family and friends. Travelling with three boys is certainly one of life's challenges and it is nothing short of a miracle that we didn't leave any behind, only scraped one rental car, didn't lose anything of irreplaceable value and may still have a few friends left in South Africa. I'm quite keen however not to see another suitcase for a few months nor face a US Border post for a while.

It is safe to say we were pretty much on our knees when we left the island after a brutal few months of living on the edge, albeit of the tropical island variety. A close friend immediately noticed how pinched the children's faces were which was an astute observation as the kids had also been through hell, just as much as Tyler and I had.

We got the trip off to an emotional start on our first night back at the boys former school, The Ridge, to watch the annual school production. It was probably the very last thing I felt like doing after a long Transatlantic flight, but we were overwhelmed by seeing old friends again, the sheer exuberance and quality of the production and the wonderful continuity of old things remaining the same. The island quickly felt a very long way away.

I was flooded with a weird mixture of remorse (for taking the boys away from something which they had loved) and anxiety (that we had sacrificed something material for something intangible) but then was also strangely re-assured that we were on the right track. I was constantly asked if we were now "ecstatic" since we were living our dreams, to which my general reply was that we were so exhausted that we didn't give it much thought but that we never had to second-guess ourselves: Trading suburbia for a tropical island will always seem romantic and dashing despite the actually reality that most of the time it isn't, so c'est la vie.

There is a creative energy about South Africa from which I draw much of my own. Cafes and restaurants are buzzy with sharply-attired beautiful young things of all hues, the food is good and the wine is always delicious. We had some excellent meals and I stocked up with all kinds of delicious ideas for our bakery as well as spices, recipe books and enough inspiration to keep me going for at least another twelve months.

The boys blossomed with the 24/7 attention of grandparents, cousins, aunties, great aunties & uncles, old friends, new friends and doting nannies. They rode ostriches and horses, went up cable cars, flew kites, climbed mountains, had sleepovers, were spoilt by godparents, ate calamari & chips at every opportunity and were roundly entertained like princes.

Our last week was spent mainly in the Midlands where we visited schools and had a good look around - all of which was satisfactory. The major upshot of our trip therefore is that the boys will be returning to SA at the end of 2014 to boarding school, as we feel that boys need playing fields and science labs and inter-house swimming galas and things like that. Both Clifton Notties and Michaelhouse have these things in abundance. We will then have to get used to possibly one of the longest commutes on the planet, but we do believe we may have just found the best of both worlds. The two cultures are strangely similar and it will be up to us to parlay the two and knit things together.

I've come back re-energized and re-inspired and the past year feels squarely behind us. I'm feeling strong about the future again and our place within in it, so the 6 weeks clearly worked its magic. Time always heals, it is true.