Yesterday was a good day. It was truly a day of reconciliation for our family. December the 16th has always been a public holiday in South Africa. It used to be the celebration of a bloody battle between the Afrikaners and the Zulu’s and the triumph of one of them. It is now far more appropriately named Day of Reconciliation. It is a day to celebrate being reconciled. Obviously given our countries history, we should continue to be thankful for our progress so far and strive for complete integration one day.

I would guess that my family is like a lot of families. There are sides who over time have failed to communicate. Yesterday an uncle of mine invited all the possible family members together for lunch and sneakily did not tell everyone of his plans. The plan worked brilliantly and the family talked and hugged and kissed. It was all very special.

These events are great for the sharing of old stories. My father reminded me of something that my brother used to say when he got very excited. Yesterday on my blog I tried to put into words how I felt and I don’t think I quite managed it. Thanks to my bro, this may work better;

“I am so excited, my stomach feels ticklish inside!”

My new strategy of providing extra attention to my children, which includes a little bit of extra discipline seems to be paying off. Yesterday my youngest said to me, “Dad, when are you going to go BACK to work!” I assured him that he and I would be together for a very long time. I don’t think that this is what he wanted to hear, especially when he was looking for a way out after only 2 days!