Saturday 12 July 2014

I could've married my sister


I could've married my sister
12 July 2014

No, I don’t bat for the other side.  Nor am I really all that into incest. 

Still, I could’ve married my sister.

This past week, my beloved Grantie was away on a business trip.  And just per chance, my sister phoned up and said, she felt like a sleepover visit.  Which was absolutely perfect.  Cause I’m pretty much in the mood for one, all the time too.

We only live about forty minutes away from each other.  But during the week and in term time, it feels like we’re in different provinces.  Occasionally I nip through for a morning, in between dropping kids off at school and fetching them again.  We always have an awesome time.  But it’s a very limited visit.  About four hours or so.  Perfectly golden in its own way, as it is solo time for us.  No husbands, nor kids.  We trawl the little antique shops and though we never really buy, we do lots of admiring of beautiful things.  We stop at one of the trendy coffee shops and have a Cappu or a Latte.  We sit on the bench on their stoep, admiring the view of the bay.  And we talk.  Non-stop.  Squeezing as many words as possible, into a relatively short time.  But most of all we laugh.  We have that kind of relationship, where we’re just always genuinely happy to be around each other.  We both have a silly sense of humour, and we enjoy celebrating the funny side of life.  At the same time, she’s my sounding board, and my greatest champion.  Which I in turn, am to her.

So, back to our sleepover.  It’s school holidays, so we would have time.  My husband would be at the coal mines so to speak.  Her husband would be in his studio, recording his latest album.  Our kids would be on holiday, and we wouldn’t have such a time restraint on us.  And then I had a brain wave.  What if she came through really early, and we parcelled our youngest kids off to the holiday club for the morning.  That way we’d really have a ball.  Now, we love them lots, and all that, but they’re busy.  And a brief reprieve to ourselves, while they’re out having a blast, would be a real win-win.  And so it came to pass.  Cole and Honey spent two fabulous, fun-filled mornings, at the holiday club.  Much to our delight and theirs.

However, my daughter is doing rehearsals for an upcoming dancing show.  Sometimes, twice a day.  Then there’s costume fittings and trips to the fabric shop for costume materials too.  My eldest son, is in a gym frenzy, spending a fair amount of time exercising.  Requiring driving him there and back.  And thus, Luke and Amber would need lifts to and from too.  Also, I’m currently helping two friends with three businesses.  Make any sense?  And thus I’d have to spend time doing that too.

The bonus being that lots of this work is super creative and fulfilling.  And Katrine was extremely happy to jump right in and help me too.  Being creative is fantastic and fulfilling.  Being creative with my sister?  Indescribable.  What a joy.  In fact, she thanked me and said, “Thanx so much for organising this fun creative game for us to play while I am visiting”.  Yes, she’s silly too.

So apart from all of the above, there’s the usual shopping, cooking, etc.  And for the duration of her two night sleepover, we formed a perfectly matched partnership.  Heading off in different directions at times.  Me collecting two kids at one place, while she’s dropping a different two kids at two different places.  And swopping over every so often.  Conquering and dividing shopping and cooking.  Sms’ and phone calls back and forth, “I’ve got pasta, bacon, peppers and onions for supper, anything else you need while I’m at the shops?”.  To which an average reply was, “Nope, that’s it.  When I dropped the eldest two off at dancing and at gym this morning, I got milk and bread.  See you at home, in a little while.”.

At night, after supper, when the youngest two kids were busy playing up a storm, making forts and the like, and the eldest two were busy watching a movie in one bedroom, or playing PlayStation in another, the two of us sat.  Perfectly in sync.  Crafting, chatting and laughing away, while a chick flick provided the best background ambience imaginable.  We indulged in face cleansing sessions, and lying on my bed, chatting and laughing.  In fact my stomach was sore.  Sometimes, the six of us, were all together, watching a movie, or enjoying a meal. 

But basically, it was harmony.  Like a magnificent, perfectly orchestrated and timed synchronised swimming display.

Which led me to believe,

I really could’ve married my sister quite easily. 

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4 comments:

  1. And as an extra bonus I now have met another member of your wonderful family !! She really is a star a bit like my sister !!!!! Xxxx Lexi

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  2. Awwww, you see, this is why I wanted a sister! <3

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  3. And I am lucky enough to have a sister just like you have, whom I also adore and we just GET each other. We laugh together like I do with no-one else in the world! My sounding board, advisor, my best friend, my pep talker, my person. No matter what -I always feel uplifted and happy after a phone call! I am so lucky to have her - and it is one of the reasons why I made sure that my pigeon pair were close to their cousins - the closest you will get to a sister or brother if you don't have one. LOvely blog - Thanks Helene!

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  4. Bliss!! i am the happiest mom in the world to have daughters who love to play together so very much! Like me and Bettie, you 'get' each other! What a rare privilege! It is awesome that you make the time!!
    Going to spend three sleeps at my sister's house next week!! Yeahhhhhh!!
    So sad for Ouma Helene and Ouma Cath who both lost their sisters is such short succession.
    Wonderful blog, Helene!

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