LIVING BY THE CALENDAR

More than ever, our lives are determined by the calendar.

The most recent date of note was August 23rd, but not because it was my birthday. After 18 months of waiting, Glen received his approval for Canadian Residency! This most wonderful birthday present could not have arrived in a more mundane manner: a simple email arrived asking him to bring in his passport to the Consulate in Pretoria so that his immigration visa could be inserted. So much for "Welcome to Canada"!

The next date of note was the first weekend of September: a long anticipated family trip to Kruger National Park to begin what Glen has dubbed his mother's "birthday season". She tuns 80 in December, so we flew her out from Cape Town for a visit and then drove to Kruger Park-- about 5 hours away. We were joined by Glen's daughters and their partners, his son from the UK and his sister from Durban. Although we will see all of them (except his son) again before our departure in mid-December, this will be the last time that we will ALL be together. Time, and our lives, are marked by these important dates.

Kruger was a wonderful trip and such a treat for all. I had found a big house for rent not far outside the park. The best part of it was that the house was located in a small private game reserve, so as we sat out on out large porch in the evening, there was a parade of animals including warthogs, zebra and kudu. It was almost as much fun as being in the park-- and much more relaxed as we sipped sun-downers and watched the wildlife. The animals were accustomed to humans, so they slowly made their way forward-- just a few feet away from us. We were all unnerved when a warthog decided to join us right on the porch! Even more unnerving was when a kudu (the size of a small horse) approached us and didn't stop until his head was about 18 inches from Glen's!

We had great luck game viewing in Kruger the highlights of which were seeing a lion kill-- 4 female lions had brought down a buffalo and were devouring it right at the side of the road. We were close enough to smell the stench of the kill (intestines? meat rotting in the sun?). The lions devoured it with such gusto that a head would disappear inside the body cavern of the buffalo as every desirable morsel was consumed.

We were stopped for about 20 minutes in a buffalo crossing when a herd of several hundred took their time crossing the road in single file. There were lots of elephants, hippo and crocs, but the best had to have been the rare sighting of a leopard strolling across a dry sandy riverbed. As I watched this gorgeous creature through the binoculars, a switch clicked in my brain and there in that moment, all of my time Africa was embodied in that perfect moment watching this gorgeous creature.

And now, we know that time will only speed up as we finish our jobs in late November, pack up the house and take one one last (for now at least) road trip in South Africa. The most important part of this race through time is that it is not a singular one as most of my adult life has been. Instead, there is my wonderful loving Glen at my side as we share, evaluate, and make decisions about yet another momentous decision: our relocation to Canada. What a joy it is to share these moments and keep each other calm as one starts to fret about all the risks and challenges of the next phase in our shared life-- but oh how exciting it all is too!