Another blow

My nose and I have been good friends for many years. And then I went and blew it!

We have been through much together, ups and downs. There was a time when we were very young and playing in a friend’s garden, when my nose stopped the incredible advance of a flight of stairs. This heroic action was not without its consequences, copious quantities of blood were spilt which ensured a sudden end to a peaceful garden party. My nose still proudly displays the scar. In fact that scar leads us forward into every day!

There are times when we argue, mainly in the winter months when it gets all snotty with me. I find I don’t link my nose then, and it seeks comfort in the casual embrace of others.  Yes, my nose has loved its fair share of tissues, and left some colourful wet spots in its wake.

I get my own back by eating hot chillies. I love chillies. I love the way they give me a high. I even enjoy the sensation of perspiration on my forehead. My nose always has the last laugh though, and it all ends in another tissue cuddle.

 Other times my nose has gone so far as to bleed for me. Is this not the ultimate act of friendship? The resulting blood stains on my shirts have given me the macho respect I always felt I was due. It really hurts that a soft tissue is the only thing that will comfort my nose again, and all I can do is stand back and watch.

Looking down my nose has never been easy. My eyes tend to cross over and squint and instead of being condescending, I end up looking like a mad man. We have also tried walking with my nose held up high, but I keep tripping over stuff, so we gave that up too. We just had to face the fact that there are some things we just cannot do!

We have done some secret things together too. We even snuck off to a hospital in Pretoria and had a nose job. It turns out that a nose is very useful to the process of equalising in a plane. My work started to require frequent air travel and my silly nose refused to equalise on the descents. It was a little painful and I tried hard to force fingers through my ear hole to put an end to it all. I still have no idea what my nose had against my ears, although I have the feeling I should! When I started to rack up my air miles, I booked myself in for a rhinoplasty. Lots more blood, kilometre long plugs up my nose, and five day off work did wonders for both of us.

Last night marked another milestone in our relationship. Things have been going so well between us lately, just two half hearted snotty fights all winter. We really have been joined at the cheek so as to speak.  Last night ruined it all. Willie’s knee and my nose are never ever going to see each other again. That is a fact! Willie was apologetic but his knee just laughed it off. Instead my nose and eyes had a very sad conversation resulting in a few tears being shed. Some of the tears making a sudden left at the end of my nose where the old track had been slightly modified!

I am not sure that Judo is good for me anymore. So far this year, the ligaments in my foot have complained twice and very loudly. My elbows are bruised, as are my knees, and now my nose is out of joint. I really don’t know how to make it up to all of my best friends...

Talking Heads

I spent a couple of days in Johannesburg last week. Dry and dusty days, filled with the smell of burnt veld. I got to share two very special dinners with friends and family. Blessed food unifying us all!

It is a wonderful privilege to be able to travel across the country and arrive in somebody else’s home as an extra member of the family. To join in their prayers, laughs, stories, fears, and deep bonds of love. Rejuvenating, inspiring, and a clear message that my family is in many ways like any other! For the rest my family is just a little wacky...

Then to be able to spend some time with an uncle and aunt was another gift beyond measure. To share a life happening apart and remember a life lived long ago. Memories filled with love and laughter.

Conversations like these make life full, deep, and meaningful. Yet most of us live life at a pace that fails to facilitate these kinds of conversations, instead relegating communication to quick catch ups of the most superficial kind.   

It really is deeply satisfying to take life slowly and probe the depths of each other’s souls once in a while!

My Birthday

It was my birthday this past weekend. Normally, this would mean very little to me but this year for some odd reason I felt like doing things a little differently. Nothing fancy, just a couple of mates around to my place; Cape Town style!

Life has been pretty busy and so my wife and I did not get around to inviting anyone until last week. Almost so late that it was probably better to abandon the project. But I had inkling that I would be hungry anyway, so we went ahead!

The evening was magnificent, as only the weather can be on days in February. The swimming pool was crowded with children and men modelling some usually unseen tattoos and hairy legs. The trampoline was pushed to its limits, the half pipe shared many of its splinters, and the soccer table drew great crowds as young and old plotted, dribbled, and scored together.

My custom made steel plate sizzled in anticipation of the wild mixtures of tandori chicken, chopped vegetables, sesame oil, soya and sweet and sour sauces to come. I opened the cooking festivities with an interesting creation for my wife. Her approval meant that I had cracked it on the first go and heaps of chillies would make my next attempt awesome; and hot as it turned out! Interestingly enough, not a soul blamed the chef for a mediocre meal!

There were no tables or chairs and forks were optional, although they stopped fingers from being burnt! Everyone lazed around on the back lawn on blankets and cushions, with my coffee table taking pride of place in the midst of it all.

I was spoilt by everyone simply by them being there, as well as a couple of well thought out presents! It was a wonderful evening and I thoroughly enjoyed it. In fact I would have to class it as the best birthday celebration that I can remember. There is something very special about being blessed with an amazing circle of friends.

And I realised how important a birthday celebration is; perhaps this is something I will do every year!

Neighbours and Friends

What a weekend. A medley of social interaction with friends and neighbours that was staggering in its fun quotient!

It all started off with drinks at a neighbour’s house. Drinks quickly became an impromptu dinner which was lovely in that it was good time shared. I have to wonder how many people can walk down their street and be surrounded by friends.

Saturday involved a walk up a mountain as part of a church youth group meeting. Presumably I was there in order to oversee a bunch of impressionable youngsters and was greeted instead to a rather large family event. The youngsters had all brought their parents and siblings. It was a wonderful morning of shared joy in the beauty of nature and the exertion of a good hard walk. My five year old did me proud and managed to complete the three hour expedition on his own albeit at his pace!

Later that evening another neighbour dropped in to drop off some stuff she had borrowed. Soon the rest of her family had been invited and we all sat down to share dinner and some of that red liquid stuff, rather famous in the Cape. Again, I had to wonder about our neighbourhood, does this happen to anyone else?

Sunday saw an old work college over to lunch. What a joy to hear and see her confidence and happiness in life again. The spark of life within completely renewed! And then dinner saw some more old friends and their family arrive and another thoroughly entertaining meal shared.

My wife and I are inordinately blessed with amazing friendships. Sometimes it takes a bit of effort to rekindle the connections but all of that effort is infinitely rewarded within the warm glow of sharing time together!

Oh yes, and friendship goes very well with food!

Coming Home

Coming home is a magnificent experience, assuming of course that you have a home to come home too.

I live in a smallish town in a beautiful part of the Western Cape. Mountains surround us, the sea is a full seven minute drive away, the roads are wide and well maintained, trees are large, and gardens beautiful.

But that is not why coming home is so magnificent. I have my own car at home, my office is at home, my house is comfortable, the garden lush, with a stream that runs through it, providing fresh water all year long.

But that is not it at all.

No, coming home is all about people. To have Matt charging through the crowds at the airport and launch himself into my arms, and then cling to my neck and produce his famous tight squeeze bear hug. To talk with Luke and hear of his exploits, and to notice that although he is fully boy, he is growing up all the time in imperceptible ways. To hug my wife, inhale her sweet fragrance, bury my head in her hair, rub her growing belly, and know that this is the rock who will always be at my side.

Coming home is also about all of our friends that line our street and it is about the phone calls to mates and family, who don’t live in our street, to catch up on the latest in their lives.

Family and friends! Is there anything more important in our lives? I don’t want to leave again, not for a long time...