Getting there, eventually ....

I’ll never forget our test-drive experiences about 8 years ago when we were buying a new car. One of the possibilities was a Ford Explorer, an over-sized 4x4 and family car in one.

We fastened the boys’ car seats in the back of the car and took a drive through Sharjah in late afternoon traffic. The blocks in Sharjah are fairly large and the traffic lights quite far apart which works wonders for a Ford Explorer! Our experience was that it was more like flying an aircraft than driving a car – not that either of us have ever flown an aircraft, but the heavy vehicle seemed to take forever to go from 0 – 80km/h and it felt like we were getting ready for takeoff …. And waiting a long time! Just when the car got to a comfortable speed and we were finally in 4^th gear, we’d be nearing the next traffic light and would inevitably need to stop as the traffic lights definitely aren’t synchronized! But the heavy monstrosity would not stop quickly either, again it seemed to take ages to slow down which was rather nerve-wrecking in Sharjah afternoon traffic! We didn’t buy the Ford Explorer and I’ve thought of it more as a bus!

After our unexpected but wonderful holiday and break from our usual routine I’ve found it hard to get back into routine again. Everything in me was enjoying the unplanned, out-of-sync days we were enjoying. Fortunately South African schools were enjoying their 6-week summer holidays and we could use their beginning of term as a guide as to when our own holidays would end – everyone expects us to be back-to-school too! But I really felt like that Ford Explorer, trying to gather the strength and motivation to get from 0-80km, and had to pull myself towards myself quickly! I must be honest, we have done it rather slowly and just as well. As good as it is to be doing what we do again, our rusty brains have taken a week or so to adjust to the challenge again and we’re almost ready to start adding more challenge to our day.

One of the really nice things about the holiday was the amount of time the children got to spend with friends. Our homeschooling friends who live just 300m down the road spent a lot of time with Ryan and Jed, often in long marathon sessions, most days. Ethan also enjoyed some longer visits with his friend, Etienne which was really fun! We’ve spent a lot of time at the beach, mostly with family or friends, and the boys are really enjoying the ‘boogie boards’ we acquired this summer. I am glad we’ve made the most of this break, I know we’ll see less of friends now that everyone gets back into routine … and most seem to get too busy to fit fun and socializing in.

Ryan and Ethan started back at football this week and are feeling a bit stiff after practices, one of the joys of taking a break, but are so glad to be back! Ryan is hoping to be selected to go on tour to Cape Town in a couple of months with the under-12 squad – and I’m sure he has a good chance of being selected. He has grown so much as a goalie and is really good at what he does … and is as soccer-crazy as ever! There is a slight buzz in the house with the AFCON games being broadcast of TV at the moment, we’ve been watching some good football! It’s great to see our national team in action.

So, we’re back in action mode and getting much done. Its also been exciting working on a new business venture and going through the process of registering a company (we haven’t officially registered anything for our Kiddie Gourmet brand yet). There truly never is a dull moment in our lives, and we’re enjoying each day as it comes.