Die Groot Trek

Now that I am a mama, I seem destined to begin my every blog post with something about Layla – and today is yet another opportunity to wax lyrical about this magnificent little soul who has changed my life, admittedly by turning it upside down and inside out, thereby teaching me how to permanently trash all that futile baggage I hunkered down under for too many years, and how to cherish every aspect of my{self}. Where before I whinged incessantly about all sorts of crap, suddenly I am so much more able, efficient, confident and productive! Quite how she’s managed to do in a few short months what all sorts of self-help gurus and their books spectacularly failed to do, despite their money-back guaranteed promises, I’m not quite sure… But, Layla has transformed my every moment, making it more richly delightful, more deeply felt and… endlessly more purposeful.

As our departure for our Groot Trek back to South Africa has drawn closer, Layla has grown increasingly, desperately clingy. I’d never have thought such a young, little soul could grasp the idea of such a monumental move between countries, but she most certainly has! The arrival of the boxes triggered a sudden rush of excited packing – and much more talk about ‘seeing Granny and Grampa’, discussions about the house we’ll be renting and the car we so easily purchased an entire universe away.

When we were on holiday last year (or have I already told you this story?) in South Africa, we made the decision that we would be coming home as soon as we possibly could: i.e. 6 – 12 months. And in my ecstasy and warped delight, I started packing up our little house the minute we got back from Heathrow! This premature packing caused the most frustrating level of chaos I’ve ever had to live with – and I would definitively recommend starting the packing-up procedure about three months before your flight whooshes forever away off English soil. (There’s nothin’ like a wee bit o’ drama to make you feel my unrelenting JOY! WHOOHOOO!!!) I’d start with by sitting down with the inhabitants of your household and making a list. i.e. checking out when your MOT expires on your car (so you don’t end up paying for one JUST before you leave) and when your broadband/TV/phone contract ends (on Wednesday, Virgin attempted a blatant daylight mugging of me by trying to charge me 150 GBP for cancelling our account with them. And that the only way we could pay our final bill + cancellation fee was if they emailed me a bill 14 days after our broadband had been stopped. The oke on the end of the line couldn’t quite understand why it would be such an impossibility for us to pay the bill being out of the country! What’s so damn opaque about that?! Eventually, after much prodding, I got him to use his noggin – I could now phone up on the day my internet was stopped and pay over the phone with my debit card. What a blerry mission. Sheesh!!!)

Another list that I would suggest you make is : “Stuff We Would Like To Have in SA, But We Can Live Without Right Now.” Stuff like that sweet little antique glass bird you snapped up for 50p at the local carboot sale, or those perfectly quaint silver ducks from the gentle old soul of a man, perched in his wheelchair and so proud of his wares! And then, send those treasures home so you can have them as you literally arrive in South Africa. (My boxes are only going to arrive in Cape Town long after we’ve already moved up to Grahamstown… ***Note To Self: remember to write that nomination for Mom AND leave my passport with her so she can actually receive the boxes when they’re delivered!***) Quite how one manages to live in a civilised manner if you ship your furniture back home is beyond me. Do you rent a furnished plekkie for the last 3 months in the UK while your bed, chairs etc. sail the Seven Seas?

Frustratingly, my internet and phone line are being stopped from Wednesday and though not having access to ‘the world’ freaked me out (sleepless tossing/turning, knotty stomach, sweaty palms) like the prospect of a druggie going cold-turkey, I’ve seen the flip-side of the coin – and it is far more peaceful and focused, and I’ll be able to carry Layla through the tumult of our big move. She is my world, and all my internet ‘friends’ and pseudo-commitments will survive without me! (*wry chuckle*)

My next post for iMod will be written, glass of vino poured by my dad, or coffee made like only my mom can make coffee, beside me, my heart full to the brim with Cape Town, and Layla (blessedly) playing with any number of her adoring fans who’re counting down the days till we step off that plane, our life’s possessions stuffed and shoved to bursting in our bags so we can be part of our family and culture and memories again. (As usual, a little smattering of melodrama makes my point nicely! *wink*)