Day 43 – Checking out

I love weekends. I love the slow starts, breakfast, the sense of time that I have. The fact that we try to do no-screen Saturday-Sundays. We packed up some items to pass on to friends, some belated birthday gifts and the shopping bags and I set out to pick up veg which was in short supply earlier in the week and drop off some items (safely, without personal contact of course).

It was insane how busy the shops were. I drove past Spar (queues outside), then the new Emporium (the parking lot was overflowing), so I opted to do the WW at the petrol station. Back past 2 friends, then saw our local shopping centre looked like a normal Saturday which meant I drove on by and chose to stop at the little Indian shop. Bliss – fresh hot samosas straight from the frying pan! HH was enamoured of me as he slowly crunched through.

We lost ourselves in an entire series of Shaun the Sheep last night. Seriously. We laughed until we cried. Aardman is just brilliant!

And Sunday? Well, quiet morning with online church, calls with my brother and a bestie, a braai, an afternoon nap and then some Netflix. Oh the ecstasy of my youngest at the reality of braai, pork chops, roosterkoek, marshmallows and, ta da, for teatime, a milk tart!

 

The eldest got a new book and disappeared for 4 hours, emerging blinking myopically and happy.

My weekend highlights?  Phone calls with friends, fewer screens, good books, cats sleeping on the end of the bed.

Sadness for a friend who lost her 93 year old ouma (but thankfully, in her sleep last night without trauma). A giggle at my mom who saw that one of her neighbours was selling masks because she put a sample on her gatepost to let people know  this was where to purchase – mum stopped and tried on the sample then popped it back in the packet because, you know, one should always try before one buys. Concern that the coronavirus deathtoll is 200,000 worldwide. Joy to chat to my brother. Laughter and head slaps at small boys and their need for dangerous toys! Eek at hitting our internet cap tonight.

It’s Freedom Day tomorrow. I wonder how many people will really feel free in our country? I’m guessing that Freedom tomorrow HAS to be something of the heart, not the body. As Mandela demonstrated in his life.

I’m reminded of Brave Heart’s final scene where William Wallace is broken and dying. Of the camera that pans to his clenched hand as a final cry of “freeedoommm” is wrenched from his soul and a small blue scrap of his wedding wrap flutters free with his last breath.

America shouts “give me liberty or give me death”. Tonight I think, South Africa, that we, all of us, have the call of “give me liberty or give me freedom”. Perhaps liberty is my right to do. But I think freedom is different. Freedom is my gift to be.