May
30
Well, the highlight of this week must undoubtedly be Mitchell’s week in France. It was a year-7 trip to Paris. The boys travelled to Paris in 4 coaches on the EuroStar channel tunnel. They stayed in a hotel on the Seine River in Paris. I was so surprised at some of Mitchell’s favourite recollections of the trip. I asked him what the highlight of the trip was for him, resigning myself to the fact that I knew the answer was going to be “Disney Land”, but for Mitchell it was the Eiffel Tower. He also took note of things along the route that I never suspected he would notice. He saw the Vimy Ridge Memorial and this certainly seems to have struck a chord with him. He sent us a text message as soon as he had passed it, and when he got home he related the story to us with so much feeling. The boys visited the Arc de Triomphe and although they could not go down the Champs Elysees as French farmers were protesting with tractors and had even laid down a false lawn along the road, they were able to see and experience so many things. More than anything, Mitchell made new friends on this trip and he felt a new sense of responsibility. I know it was only a week, but he seems to have come home, older, wiser and if I am not mistaken, maybe even a little taller.
This week also saw the end of Jenna’s time at the primary school she has attended for the past year. It is half-term break now and as soon as the schools reopen next week, Jenna will start at one of the private schools near us. She is so excited and absolutely delighted. It does mean that this week will be spent once again, shopping for school uniforms. She received the most amazing send-off from her friends at the school she is leaving. She has made some really good friends this year and we will all have to work hard at making sure that she stays in contact with them.
Today Mitchell played a cricket match in Edenbridge for the Bidborough Colts team. Driving through Hildenborough on the way to the field, a camera speed-trap went off on the side of the road and I suspect it was directed straight at ME! It means a fine and points against my licence, but that was not the worst to come. I arrived at the cricket field and as I was parking my car I drove over a sawed off tree-trunk that was sticking out of the ground. The sound was terrible and I immediately reversed to get off of the stump. I suspect this did even more damage. I got out and inspected the car and it did not appear that there was any visible damage, but when it was time to leave, the damage became evident. I suspect I have either ripped a hole, the size of a crater, into the exhaust or broken the manifold. My car sounds like an ancient tractor and it is a fight to engage the gears. Philip was spending the day with us, so Mike drove my car home and I went home with Philip. Mitchell’s team won the match and apart from my motor vehicle issues, it was a good day out in the warm May sunshine.
What is family? Are your family the people with whom you share DNA? Are your family the people you see every day of your life and are they defined as such simply because they live in the same house as you? I grew up with a very special person in my life. He stayed in our house for a few years and then moved to rent the house next door to us. He has always been a part of my life. Growing up without a father in my life, “Uncle Ivan” became the person who filled that role for us. He was the one who fixed the punctures on my bike; he was the one who drove with my mom late at night to fetch me from Numbers Dance club or parties I had attended. He was always at my school concerts and most often would sit right up in the front row. He killed snakes and spiders in our back yard, he sat with us until late on summer evenings and watched the setting sun, and he brought us our Christmas tree every year and watched as we decorated it. He spent every Christmas with us, whether we were at home or away on holiday, he taught my son to ride a bike and how to climb a tree. He is the type of person who could never say a bad word about anyone. He would fetch me from school on rainy days so that I didn’t have to walk, he would sit by the side of the field when I played a hockey match or marched in a drummie competition. He was at our house the night of my matric farewell and he sat in the front of the church on my wedding day, he told the funniest stories of his life as a young boy and the things he would get up to at school. When Mitchell did a school project on his family tree two years ago, we included Uncle Ivan and a photo of him, with the caption “Grandpa on loan”. The day I left South Africa I went around to his house to say goodbye but he was not there, and I left without saying goodbye. When I went back in September, I again went around to his house and there was no response to my knocks at the door. This week I received the news from his daughter, that he is now very frail; he has had a few strokes and is spending his days alone at home. He may not have been my biological dad, but he was a father to me. I have never met another person, who so simply “gave without condition”, and I doubt that I ever will.
Uncle Ivan is a part of our family, not because of genetics, but simply because he is.
