eish

countdown continues... We're looking at 25 hours before I leave the house. How absolutely strange I feel - as if I am watching someone else's life. And worse, its sort a bad copy and a little grainy and I can't quite make out the details. I guess its normal I mean, in all my travels its the first time I've felt the complete and total urge to go home and although I have felt at home in lots of places, its the first time I'm leaving home to go home and then come back home again. Isn't that a bit of a wierd one. I suppose not for most people, but I have suddenly adjusted to the fact that I have two homes and I guess I am still adjusting. Here in South Africa we would call Cleveland my "home home". Funny - but I think its Zulu that has "sky blue" and "tree blue" - I'm sure you can figure that one out...

25 hours and counting and I have only sort of packed, which I only did so we didn't use up all the clothes I want to take for Oscar. My clothes are a little easier to deal with (though my closet isn't the masterpiece of order it once was), lets see - 4 pairs of black pants (check), 2 pairs of cream pants (check), 1 skirt (check), 1 pair of jeans for the flight (check), 1 black dress (check), unknown quantity of black tank tops and assorted black shirts (check), 1 cream sweater (check), 1 black sweater (check), 1 jacket in case the heatwave ends (check), 2 pairs black shoes - including for travel - (check), 1 pair cream shoes (check), assorted pjs and underwear (check) DONE. (except toiletries) Oscar on the other hand, having just learned to walk and appreciating the act of getting dirty, but not being dirty requires (14 days / 2 - for laundry x 3 because he needs to be changed ALL the time) = 21 tops and bottoms + socks + shoes. But the real hassle lies in his accessories. 1 playpen for sleeping in (not yet packed away), 1 stoller (cover being washed and structure being bent back into shape), minimum 3 bottles + accessories, including bottle brush (still in use in the house, pack only at the last minute), 2 tins formula (not yet purchased), 1 cup for juice (not clean) sunscreen (where is it?), children's tylenol/panado (haven't purchased a 2nd bottle and Felix needs one here as well), quantity of diapers/nappies (not packed), package of wipes (still on changing table), favourite blanket (currently using for nap), favourite teddy (currently using for nap), few small toys for the plane (will pack last depending on room), 1 car seat (still in car), 2 pacifiers/dummies (currently using one for nap, bound to forget the second), assorted creams and other toiletries (lets hope I remember). And if I am lucky I will remember the passports, money and other relevent items when its time to go.

Of course, coming home (not home home) will be an even bigger challenge and I'm still not clear if I stand in the line/queue with South Africans or not, but I suppose if I throw out words like: yebo, howzit, china and lekker, they'll just wave me through. Eish this is Africa afterall and sometimes it werks, hey?