Charlie's Bird
living the dream with Charlie and Thandi and chirping all the way back to the nest.Archive for August, 2012
Bye bye winter!
…and spring is certainly in the air – after an impressive thunderstorm last night, today is emerging as a fine last day of winter – the sun is peeping out from silvered clouds, which will burn off for a gorgeous day I am sure. Let’s hope tomorrow will be as gorgeous.
I am sorry I have been a bit absent. Work has been busy, as always; 7 babies in 2 days is fair enough. Subsequent to my cold, Charlie has come down with man ‘flu, and Thandi has even had the snots. So the house has been loads of fun of late! Shame the poor little girl even had to get shots yetserday… Boo… She wailed up a storm, but after a nap was right as rain again – thankfully.
This weekend I am hoping to just relax and get rid of the remaining snot. We’re having dinner with friends on saturday, so I’ll hopefully also get to cook up a storm! Let the weekend begin!
*sniff, sneeze, cough, splutter*
Can I just mention how I dislike being sick? Yuck! I am a poor patient, partly because life has to carry on regardless around me. My patients all express sympathy, but none will ever move their appointment! And actually, they are the ones that gave me the germs originally. Do you think a big sign in my rooms saying that you must reschedule if you have an infectious ailment would work? Oy! Excuse me while I cough a lung up…
Continuing celebrations
…what fun we had this weekend! After a rather frantic friday finalising goodie bags et al, we headed off to Mpotshane Private Game Lodge in the fair Eastern Cape, We arrived in glorious sunshine to a well kept lodge, on the edge of a krans, with the sound of running water far below us – kestrals, hornbills and a small hawk lazily surfing the thermals… wowee! The rooms were beautiful, neat and spotlessly clean, I popped a goodie bag in each one, and we waited for our guests to arrive. After everyone arrived, we settled down for some introductions and casual chatter. As the afternoon cooled down, we headed off for a game drive – sadly, there had been a hunt on the farm earlier in the day, and the animals were a bit spooked, but we did spot some impala and blesbok. And as for the bird life – if you’re a twitterer, it was a treat. The game drive took us down to the mighty Kei river, watching the sun go down – golden rays highlighting the water – just stunning! Then it was back to the lodge for a drink and supper. We started with Butternut and gooseberry broth – delicious as always; then followed with a venison roast with all the trimmings – gorgeous and tender too! Pudding was a malva pud and custard, yummy, and we finished the evening with coffee and my (modified) black forest cake, which seemed to turn out very well! Then the ‘geselsie vuur’ burned bright, and long into the night the wine, whisky and conversation flowed… Sunday dawned clear and crisp, and after a traditional english brekkie, we baked in the sun like dassies, before slowly making our way home. What a wonderful weekend! If this is what turning 40 is all about, I might even look forward to it! Happy Birthday Charlie!
Some photos from our lovely weekend….
Friday is here!
…woohoo! Although, saying that, I have had a much better week than last week! My stress has been lower, work has been more managable and I think I have been more pleasant to live with!
I spent yesterday afternoon catching up with 2 dear friends, who I just have not connected with for ages – coffee with Em’s mom, hearing all her news and tea with WS, and having cuddles with her new little lady, while mine tried to bash her head with a lego block! Anyway, it was really good for my soul to reconnect and catch up. I really wish I had more time to do things like that. yesterday was unusual, I had no theatre cases booked, and an underbooked diary, so I got out of the rooms early, get to spend some time with Thandi girl, then my friends – magic! the evening saw me collapse in a heap in front of the telly, despite having a few chores to do, oh well, today is another day!
This weekend sees part 2 of Charlie’s birthday celebrations, we are taking 4 of his best and oldest mates away for a night, heading off to a private game reserve nearby, and getting treated to a day of game drives, good food and wine and a (hopefully) restful night. I have been at work on a goodie bag for the guests, from scarves to biscuits; jam to candles; I hope they enjoy them!
Anyway, before my nurse growls at me, let me be off to do some work! Think of me as I make a black forest cake for Charlie this evening!
Unbelievable people
…people really are unbelievable, and not necessarily in a good way. From the arse who drives too close to me, while I am staying at the speed limit with a speed trap ahead, to the guy who blocks an intersection in their haste to get nowhere fast; from the patient who doesn’t disclose her full history, to the patient that calls at 02h00 to tell me her period is heavy… These are the days of my life!
(can you tell I’m a bit narked today?)
Bittersweet symphony
… my heart is sore for a dear friend today… you know who you are, what a bittersweet day, saying a difficult no, to see someone else celebrate. I’m holding you in my heart today, if I could just tell you it will all work out, I would, but, as I’ve to you before; in the end it will be ok, if it’s not ok, it isn’t the end.
In fact my heart is just sore for all my friends on this difficult fucking journey. If only; a crystal ball, a tea leaf, a feather, a promise from above, but I have none of these… Remembering you all today.
Palindrome day
…did anyone else notice that today’s date is a palindrome? 21-8-12. Pretty cool, huh?
(Gosh, I knew that return to school would have consequences, it’s brought out the English nerd…)
What Charlie’s Bird did next
… her 20 year high school reunion, Charlie’s 40th birthday and some new photos!
Ok, so the high school reunion – I can’t quite believe it has been 20 years! Its only the second time I have been back to my school since I left, and while lots has changed, so much has remained the same. I wa filled with such a nostalgic pride, and am so pleased that Thandi will follow in my footsteps, attending my old school. Last Thursday, we had the Old Girls’ Guild Dinner, which was a noisy affair, with about 200 returning old girls, spanning the generations. I had been very involved in organisational stuff, and was quite relieved to sit down, drink some wine and catch up. Friday morning, we all headed off to Founders Day assembly, it is incredible in 20 years it has changed little, the format of the day was the same, the hymns were all the same, with one change, and that was the Lord’s Prayer was sung in Xhosa, it was beautiful! After tea in the old school hall, I wandered the corridors of my memory; looking in at the science lab, my old classroom, remembering where my desk was, quite something! Sadly, not one of my old teachers was there, and I doubted those that were there who hadn’t taught me directly would have remembered me. On friday night, we headed off to the cafe at the museum for a cocktail function. It was another trip down memory lane, many of s remembered stopping there, to meet the boys from our brother school (I attended a girl’s only school) and to buy Wilson’s toffees! What a fun evening it was, there was lots of wine flowing, great food, lots of laughter, lots of lucky draw prizes and lots of reminiscing! it really was a good reunion, and I felt exceptionally proud being a green and white bag girl!
And Charlie turned 40 yesterday! Our celebration began on friday afternoon. We had a photo shoot done by our friend MJ (photo’s will follow) and then we headed off for a massage – yay – apparently I even emitted some loud breaths while I was being massaged… We then fetched Thandi and took ourselves off to a beachfront restaurant for a late lunch. With a delicious glass of Sauvignon Blanc, I had a Pizza L’Italiana (a margarita base with parma ham, parmesan cheese and rocket) which was divine! From there we melted our way home, and relaxed until I had to head off to my reunion function. When I got home from that, I found a sleepy head Charlie, who quickly woke up, when I offered him his birthday present, since it was after midnight! He seemed thrilled with his gift – a beautiful leather travel bag, with the itinerary of a trip to the Serengeti and Ngoro-Ngoro, which we will take in May next year, to see the great migration. (let’s hope the Mayans get it wrong, hey!) A few hours of sleep, and we were up for his birthday brunch, which was taking place in one of the local parks. Our friend, the Chef Lady did the catering for us. we started with delicious stewed fruit with greek yoghurt, then onto fried eggs, bacon, sausage, tomato bredie, roosterbrood, jams, coffee with condensed milk and rusks – yummy!!!! Of corse, the champagne and orange juice flowed too! Charlie had such a special morning, we were blessed with great weather, good company and made many new memories! Thanks to all who celebrated with us. In the evening, we took some pizza out to his parents, and celebrated with them to close a very special day.
And now those photo’s…
Charlie, my love, we did good!Thandigirl, artiste in the making
the artist at work
admiring her work
the finished product
‘What do you mean, draw on the board? Mom, you can’t constrain my creativity like this, I am an Artiste!’
Surveying the aftermath
Ok, so here we are, a week after the bubble burst.
Emotionally, the only word I can use to describe Charlie and I is shellshocked. I was so very convinced that it was going to work, that when it didn’t I was completely and horribly shocked. I have always believed that I would have 2 children, my Thandi and a mischevious little boy, just like his dad; in fact I didn’t just believe it, I knew it, in my soul, that we would grow our family and be blessed with even more joy. I remember saying to Charlie, shortly before we got married, that there was no doubt, we would have 2 chillens, that was our path, our journey to travel. So remembering when one has such conviction about something, and it doesn’t happen, it is an absolute rug pulling episode, when you land on your head, feel rather sheepish before you burst into tears – indignant and painful tears. And this is where I have found myself, indignant, angry and very sad. My heart aches for an unrealised dream, an outcome that I could do nothing to influence. Do you have any idea how hard that has been for a classic type A personality? All I could do was hope, dream, believe, and in this case that wasn’t enough. Nothing would have been enough…
So what does this mean for us now. Well, we are going to regroup for a bit. Take time to rediscover that which infertility stole from us – our spontaneity, some of our freedom, each other; because one cannot discount quite how much you loose. Being able to plan something more than a month or 2 in advance, drinking that glass of wine at a party with a clear conscience, having spontaneous s*ex… Just being, in the moment, with each other and Thandi.
And then, when the dust has settled, and I can wear mascara again, maybe we’ll dare to dream again, or maybe we’ll discover that all along, we’ve been living that dream…
Charlie's Bird 