Apologies for my tardiness this week. I did not forget to write, it’s just I was away in a most unusual fashion. Sometimes good ideas to do out-of-the-ordinary things keep coming to mind until one eventually takes the next step and makes the idea become real. My sister and I have discussed flying to visit our brother and his family in South Africa many times. We didn’t travel together when we were younger and single and now that we both have families of our own, our days of spontaneous jaunts wherever we wish seemed out of the question. Until we just did it.
It was our brother’s birthday and we thought we’d like to surprise him with ourselves! You know, “Happy Birthday! Here we are, your present is us!” We haven’t celebrated birthdays together since we all left home, so it was about time. We informed him of the surprise a few days before we arrived so that he could anticipate – sometimes the imagining of what’s to come can be just as satisfying as the actual event, don’t you think?
So, tickets booked and bags packed, last Thursday morning we checked ourselves onto a flight. I’m skipping over lots of details and emotions. What could have turned into something complicated making us rather just stay home actually became the easiest thing in the world. The husbands said, “GO!” The grandmother said, “I will help!” The friend down the road said she’d be on call. We put aside all reservations and took our chance!
We were probably already processing a lot of nervous energy to have gotten to that point when we found ourselves seated in the stationary plane for two hours. We couldn’t quite be sure what the delay was and when we, eventually, were told to buckle up because we really were leaving, I suddenly just had to stand and stretch. Things were feeling strange! The take off seemed strained and the lift into the air was bumpy but maybe there were clouds. From time to time we tilted to the right and when it came time to land I could swear we sped up rather than slowed down and judging by the wide eyes and hands stretched forward, many of us wondered if the runway would be long enough for our hurtling descent. It was more like one of those crazy rides at a funfair than the peaceful drift through the sky I thought it would be. We did stop before the tarmac ended and my sister said, “That’s it, let’s ask one of the men to come and fetch us, we are not flying back, we are driving home!” It was a joke, but not really. When we walked on earth again I declared that I must well and truly be a “solid ground sort of person.” That night, before falling asleep we relived our journey and rather than crying or voicing concern, we laughed and laughed and laughed. We were safe, all was well, we were with our family who love us, and sometimes laughter really is the best medicine. Our midnight merriment put everything back into perspective. Scary things can happen, but the experience does not need to and should not live on in our bodies and minds.
Our brother and niece were waiting at the airport for us and it’s thanks to him for the catchy title of today’s post. What a brother he is – tall, handsome, funny, kind, creative, appearing laid back but quite highly strung; a reassuring, wise, discerning presence in a confused world. We were supposed to get a taxi from the airport to their house, but our sister-in-law thought they’d better not let us country bumpkins loose in the city. What a sister she is – as small as our brother is mighty; organised, caring, thoughtful, fun, hard-working and beautiful; like a Cherry Blossom dancing free next to her steady Oak. They’ve given us two nieces full of bright spunk and quirks. There’s really nobody in the world quite like them and I could have happily brought them home with me. It’s one thing to say goodbye to your siblings, but to their children? Dreadful! Hard! Should never happen!
(I wondered who would be waiting for new words to read on Monday morning. Would their expectation to read match the pressure I was feeling to get some words out there? I took the risk and decided that in the same way I am sometimes just too busy to write, readers are sometimes just too busy to read. I hoped nobody would notice, but already some have told me they did, and so it’s for you that I write and I hope this makes up for the delay.)
To celebrate our arrival we ordered takeaways. Expensive, designer pizzas full of promises and fancy names. One of us needs to eat gluten free and so we all ordered gluten free so that we could share. We will excuse the hard, thin bases on that account – perhaps – but the lack of cheese? A few shards of cheese sprinkled here and just the once over there were all we got. Surely not? It cost a heap load to get a heap less. One of us, not me, said she was going to make a formal complaint, but I am imagining those pizzas were exactly as they created them to be. They were not what we hoped for and a huge disappointment and we kept tutting about it. Until we found out about Starbucks’ three-cheese-sour dough-toasties. We found great comfort in those bulging, stretching triangles of perfection. Just like the laughter washed away a hair raising flight experience, those humble, yet generous, toasties helped us forget a disappointment.
Back home, the men were absolute troopers. Nothing was too difficult. One of them was harvesting wheat and catching wheat thieves whilst children slept and the other was in front of his laptop at midnight doing work that hadn’t been done during the day. We got a photo of one husband leading praise and worship with Littlest Son holding onto his leg (wearing yellow shoes two sizes too big.) We spoke regularly and when I asked how things were going the first response was, “Easy as anything,” but later when I asked why something hadn’t happened, the unguarded outburst went, “Babe, it’s been hectic around here!” I smiled to myself thinking that appreciation levels for all I do in a normal day would be sky high but then I remembered that when I am doing what he was doing while I was away, he is always doing his fair share in other ways or is on his way home to carry the load, pick up the pieces and join me in this family life we thrive in. This unusual weekend, however, I was swimming, taking naps and shopping without a care in the world whilst he did it all. Fine men we have, allowing us to take hold of this opportunity in the way they did.
This long weekend was an experience that will always warm my heart when I think of it. It’s not everyday these three siblings get together and remember their common roots, make new memories and witness, together, the Springboks beat the All Blacks in, yet, another massive nation building boost. When we got to the airport this morning for our flight home (that was uneventful and exceptional – so glad we laughed rather than insist on driving home) the cameras were being positioned just so to capture the return of the heroes. Amazing what an impact a team can have in spreading hope and unity far and wide.
I could write about how the sun shone fierce and bold when we arrived and we slept with the fan going full tilt above us, and how the temperatures plummeted and we exhaled puffs of smoke with each breath when it was time to leave. That snow could fall in the heat of summer seems impossible, but it is not. Nothing is. This trip happened, and it was beneficial on so many levels. Coming home to constant hand-holding, snuggles, excited faces wondering what might be in my bag, our faithful mulberry tree and bright, blushing fruit on the apricot tree leaves me with only one more word as I lift my face to the heavens tonight: Thank you.
Leave a Reply