Writers’ block
It’s not as though I don’t have anything to write about, rather I have too much and can’t seem to process it well enough to put it down.
I will ease into this ( not so personal ) diary by sharing that I am currently at the Tswalu lodge, Kalahari nature reserve, which is in the most northern part of South Africa near the Namibian and Botswanan borders. This is potentially our last safari as our three year visa will expire in June. I can hardly believe it’s been that long and feel increasingly connected to this country the longer I stay. I am not alone in this, Marlo is currently championing the family to stay two more years to see her through middle school . Joelle is also quite happy to stay here with her tribe of friends, however Avianna is another story. To say this has been a difficult year for her ….as it has for so many .
March 2020, my niece Kacie arrived in Cape town for a visit as Corona virus was starting to launch onto the scene. At the time of her arrival there were 7 cases in Durban, a place we were supposed to visit and promptly cancelled. Instead we decided to drive up the Garden route for a beach get away. Within 3 days we were re- considering and promptly headed back home. I think she was in Africa a total of 8 days when we booked her on one of the last seats out on KLM.
That’s when things got real! Rumors of the country locking down were becoming reality and just to add to the stress, we had to move house on the eve of lockdown. I had stocked the cupboards and was bracing myself for the long haul when the news feeds started projecting the potential “ patient vs hospital bed” scenario , it wasn’t good to say the least. Having developed allergies and adult onset asthma in the previous year, a repatriation flight soon became the best option for our family.
We left our newly rented home, a pet hedgehog , and our assistant Anderson for what was to be a 40 hour journey back to Canada. It began at the football stadium where hundreds of socially distanced travelers waited to be processed , questioned and screened before being bussed to the airport which was technically closed down. Our flight were the only passengers in the entire airport as we solemnly waited for all protocols to be met. If I thought it was tense waiting to get on the plane, being met by flight attendants wearing full hazmat outfits turned it into a bit of a sci-fi horror show!
I remember thinking how grateful I was to be leaving because of a virus and not fleeing some war torn ,hostile land never to return again. Grateful to know where I was going and what it would be like, that my family would be safe and provided for. So grateful .
“Welcome to Canada “ never looked so good and we gladly settled into our temporary life in Kelowna ,B.C on April 11,2020. The day before Joelle’s 15th birthday. Truthfully I thought I won the lottery with this whole Covid thing. I got to spend 6 months in my favorite place in the world gardening, wake surfing, and visiting with friends ( from 2 meters that is). To say Avi, Jo and Mar were not quite as thrilled with the whole situation would be an understatement. Having left abruptly during lockdown meant not being able to say goodbye to friends that were also moving on. This is the heart breaking part of living in an ex-pat world! Going to virtual school from 11 pm to 5 am was no picnic either! The hardest part though, was being “stuck” at the lake with no friends for three months. I’m sure all you parents out there are feeling it !
Just when I thought we were over the hump and on our way to a fun filled summer, disaster struck. My 34 year old nephew , Jeffery Scott Rainey died unexpectedly on July 6 . I was absolutely gutted! Caught in some strange suspended state of disbelief , I moved through the summer and into the fall trying to wrap my head around it, I still can’t think about my sister and niece without feeling like my insides are going to roll out of me somehow.
August 4 school started back up for the girls…bit of a disaster really. All sorts of friends start coming through on summer holidays , the days are long and lazy , and not very much work is being done. By end of September , a couple of my daughters are properly behind in school and its taking its toll on all of us. We are waiting on President Ramaphosa to re open the borders and starting to map out the “what ifs ?”
Then it comes , clear to return dependent on a negative Covid result within 72 hours of departure . Between finding flights back to SA , scheduling the Covid test to coincide with departure , and covering off every eventuality , we finally lifted off Oct 1, on what would be another 40 hour journey .
Destination: Cape Town
