Miles of Smiles Part One

Getting There . . .

It was a road trip that we had dreamt of, discussed and planned for months, and it was finally here.

My girls awoke me at one in the morning, we packed Daisy to the hilt and headed off to the coast, I was the designated driver and Nicole sat next me riding shotgun and keeping me awake.

Nighttime, toll roads and tarred roads as long as Granddad's tales of "when I was your age", as the road rose to meet us I found myself as relaxed as a fatboy eating a bucket of KFC and not having to share. With the sound of Sugarman humming in the background, i reflected on the past year, tough - yes, lonely - hell yes, rewarding - undoubtably. The sacrifice that my girls and I had made when I took on my Lesotho adventure had made this holiday possible, this was the icing on the top complete with a lit candle and singing voices.
We drove and chatted and sang our lungs out, my version of white man rapping had my girls hiding their heads in shame ad thus I persevered. By the time we got to Grahamstown, it was 40'C and we were melting, no-one was singing anymore and Simon was as pale as she was red and flushed, it was as if someone had switched the cold water off in a shower we could not escape. This continued for and hour and a half and then we saw the ocean. We had arrived in JBay.

My Mom met us with hugs and a smile that I had sorely missed and I went through to see my Dad.
He was lying on his bed. He looked like a stroke victim with a huge scar on his arm when he had had a plate inserted after he had broken it. I was shocked and shaken, but put on a brave face, afterall this was my Father, my hero, the man who loved and encouraged me to reach the sporting standards I had, and now he was lying here staring ahead with no recognition of me at all. My Mom came into the room and I put my arm around her and we chatted about Dad, how she managed to stay so positive through all of this will remain with me forever. The words "for better or for worse, through sickness and in health till death us do part" brought a tear to my eye and I rubbed it away quickly.
In the days ahead my Dad would improve and slowly get stronger, the Parkinsons has eaten away at him yet he fights it daily with the aid of a loving wife who refuses to give up and leave her partner of 48 years. Were it not her, my Dad would have left us years ago.
She feeds him, washes and clothes him and changes him when he has messed himself, she talks to him throughout it all and lies with him when he sleeps. She is as protective over him as a teenager with her first Blackberry.

We had arrived, tired, hot but happy.

It Approaches

It's a wonderful time of the year, well almost. School kids are already finished with school and the first "I am sooo bored" has already made its appearance. For parents, most of us are counting the days down until we are on holiday.

I have enjoyed Lesotho immensely and yet I welcome a break from it now, I need a shower everyday, I need water that I can drink and a break from fried mess hall food. Oh and the flies, the African Budgie, a beast so lazy and disgusting it pales in comparison to computer generated exes. They seem to send in wave upon wave of flying raisins and rest on all that is sacred and edible, definitely more irritating than a 2 year old throwing a tantrum in a shopping centre whilst Mommy dearest tries to reason with it. I use the term "it" because if it was any other species, the mother would do the honorable deed and eat the little beast in full public view of any other potential brats.

A month away from my girls is never easy and when I am weakened by a stomach bug, it makes the whole process a little harder. My body aches more than a 55 year old mans whose 29 year old girlfriend has lured him to yoga lesson because it will help him to reach that spiritual place when they are making love. I cant wait to hit the road with my girls, road-trip  music, adventure and visiting family, this memory creator will be documented by way of blogs and photos, blank spaces filled in by fresh fruit, ice-cream and beer and as many hugs as a man could bear.
It will also be a time for me to spend with my Mom and discuss the way ahead for my Dad, a conversation I don't relish but one that must be dealt with.

It is also a time of the year where Simon, Nicole and I have been on the receiving end of friends kindness and I am indeed overwhelmed that this generosity has been bestowed upon us, I find it difficult to respond except say thank you.

This to me is the true spirit of these approaching holidays, sharing and laughing with loved ones. It is a time for friends and family to reflect on the past year and forget about the hard-times and just revel in that moment of happiness.

Nite All