About 10 days ago I received a brief e-mail from the dear friend who started me on this ‘blog trail;’ in which she stated right up front – direct and to the point – ” I hope you’re going to keep this up……..” was her loaded rhetorical question. A wave of panic gave me a momentary hug…..
“EEEEKK” – what did she mean by “keep this up” ?!! a blog a day ? two a week ? two a month ??
I started to sweat – because life ‘DOES GO ON’ you know……… and writing ‘blogs’ is all very well – I mean it’s a creative outlet yes, ……. it’s even therapeutic I guess ……. but it IS awfully time consuming ! and honestly, it happens every single time I sit down at the computer and try to write a letter (let alone a ‘blog’! ) there will be atleast 12 – 14 interruptions per the ‘allotted’ time for writing the letter ! ( which inevitably turns into a whole day anyway..) and it aint’ the ‘goomble-man’ that interrupts me; – or, come to think of it, perhaps it is, in a different guise…. in which case it’s more like the ‘goomble-MEN’ !! ( ‘goomble’ action more precisely, would be when the electricity goes off suddenly, or the computer won’t function, or you get an electric shock and pass-out…..)
But my inadvertant ‘goomble-men’ are two able-bodied young fella’s, who help me maintain and develop this little slice of secreted paradise nestling in the mountains. Indeed, heaven it is, but the chores are exaggeratedly mundane; including doing one’s own housework………. years ago, I used to think it was only kids under the age of 5 who interrupted your private toilet ablutions, showers, telephone calls, cooking or clothes-washing. (And one could enlarge on these points, but for the sake of brevity, let’s not.) Because therein lies many a ‘BLOG’…………………………
It has dawned on me however, in these my late autumnal years, that ‘interruptions’ has to do with having ‘dependants’ – of any kind. Dogs, cats, children, workmen, domestics, aged mothers with access to phones, well-intentioned neighbours – and so forth and so on. There has to be a proverb somewhere, which says “Get down on it – and you WILL be interrupted”!
So my projected days of halcyon peace and quiet have devolved into a ‘minestroni’ of knock-knock-knocks’- followed by, ( to me ! ) completely unintelligible requests ! “Mevrou………” and the rest is simply a cacophany of staccato sounds …….. I could be on planet Sirius, I kid you not ! so the process of ultimate comprehension is as follows. I stare very intently at their faces while the fired sentences shoot into the air; I stall for time by either fidgeting, or scratching bird-poo off the back door – and try to look earnest and not confused. I wait for the unseen ‘haze of vocab’ to drift through my auditory ‘osmosis’ system and hopefully filter a few key-words which would indicate the nature of the request or question. (the frown lines on my face are much more deeply etched these last 3 yrs by the way……) By 12 noon on a Friday, I am a nervous wreck and devoid of any desire, whatsoever, to interact with ANY other human-being for the next 48 hrs (preferably 72 ! but atleast 48….) and usually spend Saturday in my pajamas and mostly in bed !! now how’zat for a ‘true confession’ from a ‘Karoo Princess’ ??!
Just to tell you, up to this point I have had 5 phone-calls (and those in themselves would make up a blog!) a computer that has decided, of it’s OWN accord, to switch to a different print-size and won’t change back ! (that’s a ‘goomble’ by the way….) Knock,knock,knock and a request for ‘toilet-papier’, (another blog) ‘vieretjies/matches’, (to burn refuse; another blog….) ‘a knock to tell me ‘rotta vreet die irrigation-pype’ (rats have chewed the irrigation pipes (another blog) ‘sprinkane die size of rotta'(grasshoppers the size of rats!) steek-weg onder die plante! (are hiding under the plants) (would you say that could be another blog in the making ? ‘Darth- veda’ type grasshoppers etc.) another knock to report ‘n’ dooie volstruis teen die draad/a dead ostrich at the fence……. ( easily another blog)…….. then a full-on coffee-break with sandwiches – yes that’s my fault I know…. but I do it and that’s that ……. (another blog probably- in fact, I will make it a blog )………
In the above time, which is 3 hrs so far – what should or could I have done ? a pile of hand-washing…… a call to the conveyancers (very necessary) a call to JHB ex Caretaker, a call to the Electrician about some certificate or other, a lengthy call to my sister (in George) re the on-going saga about my mother and the old-age home, (a huge blog, but who’d be interested !) a call to my other sister (in JHB) for her opinion, a call to a friend (in JHB) whose had a heart-bypass (what a night-mare! easily another blog) Research re my hobby – which maybe I’ll turn into blogs’ later……… Look I could go on and on about daily demands – we all have them. It’s called “Life”……… and I guess that’s the POINT……….. the actual point of this blog.
One’s “Life” is a mosaic is it not……. reflecting who one is, via our decisions, experiences, reactions, choices, capacities (at first intrinsic, later learned….) hopes, dreams and wishes…….
the in’s the outs’, the up’s and downs’ (all sounding trite no doubt, but valid never-theless…..) and all those exposures and participations’ conjoin and make up the Mosaic of who we are.
SO in the end we ARE our very own Adventure……… ‘vieretjies’, rotta, dooie volstruise and the ‘writing of blogs’ – each adds a colour and a shape to the overal design which ultimately just happens to be ME.
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