Our trip to Bloemfontein was not all negative. Matt and Luke said they had an awesome time. Obviously they lived that week on a different planet to the one Donna, Isabella, and I were on!
Donna and I also found out how far we would push ourselves as parents to support our children. Donna spending three nights in that room, amidst the hospital chaos was a huge sacrifice. Yet when her daughter asked, she did not hesitate to plonk her butt in that uncomfortable chair and aeroplane nap. I would hope most parents would chose to do the same; put the needs of their children well above their own needs.
On the occasions when I inhabited the same universe as my boys, we got to spend some special time together.
Bloemfontein is home to a massive military base called Tempe. Tempe is really a big suburb subdivided into the various military divisions. We explored the base stopping at the parabat and armour museums. The parabat museum was closed, yet somebody kindly found the key and then proceeded to give us a personal tour. I made sure to take a photograph of Luke smiling under a sign which said; ‘a mind is like a parachute, it only works when it is open!’ The armour division was boy heaven! Imagine streets and streets lined with old tanks. We browsed for ages and eventually found the appropriate Sherman for our garage. Unfortunately the army killjoys would not let us take it home.
Another shared dimension saw us touring the local city zoo. I had not been to a zoo since I was a child. And zoos have not changed much since then. Lazy, fat animals in cages too small for them! Still not my favourite place, especially when we are so used to seeing animals in their natural habitat. My boys were fascinated regardless.
The highlight was on the long and boring trip home. Whilst listening to the radio we heard that a convoy of Ferrari's had been spotted on the same highway we were on. The announcer later read out an update that the Ferrari's had turned off and parked at the casino in a town along the road. As luck would have it, we found ourselves at the same town just 20 minutes later. Fired up on spontaneity, we stopped and drooled over the 43 incredible beasts parked there. We left on a high, the journey long forgotten! Luke sent an SMS to the radio station thanking them for the tip, and you can imagine his excitement when it was read on air.
1 comment:
Never been to Bloem.
Your boys are so handsome!
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