Bargaining with the Cheapskate

The lawyer I saw two years ago for my first divorce attempt is helping again for this final one. We sat together last week to try and draft a consent paper. My soon-to-be-ex husband was also present. At the end of the meeting I thought that we had agreed on everything, but a day [...]

A Day at Kirstenbosch

I have been to Kirstenbosch only once before, when I came to Cape Town for the first time on an educational trip with African Eagle, the tour company I worked with while we were still living in Johannesburg. So it was natural that I would jump at the chance to go there again with Britt [...]

Why?

As I sit here near the Southernmost tip of Africa wearing shorts and sandals, my sister still perches north of the Arabian peninsula and dons her headscarf to go out shopping.
When I first heard about my sister’s conversion to become a newborn Muslim, if I may use the expression, I was fuming with anger. How [...]

This Time it is Over

We are definitely getting divorced. This time I will not chicken out or make an about face, because I have had enough.
I am packing boxes of books and yarn. My clothes and baby’s are still waiting to be packed. This makes a fourth time for me, I have dismantled my life three times before for [...]

Seven Months: Moving Quickly

I forgot to take pictures for Robert’s seventh month birthday. A lot of stress is going on in our lives at the moment and that is why it is hard to keep track of simple pleasurable things. However, I am still very aware of the time we spend together and how we spend [...]

Kak Day?

In light of the ongoing developments in our life, it is a fitting title.I planned that Miriam will babysit today while Ron and I were out attending to the legal issues pertaining to out impending divorce. The good woman, however, dropped me late last night saying that she had misunderstood the day. Of course this [...]

Inside Dialogue – Ways of a Strange World

There is a full moon outside, and it is the last full moon I will see from this window. I remember seeing the one just before Robert was born, and thinking that when the next one comes I will be holding a baby in my arms. I spoke up my thoughts and dreams at the [...]

Working Through It

Robert is thriving despite our problems, and it is a balm to my heart to watch him grow and share moments of play and laughter. This week he started clapping his hands with enthusiasm. I don’t know whether it is the rhythm of the music or just a reflex, but he did it for the [...]

And that’s the Way the Cookie Crumbles

If I had thought that I was going to tackle raising a child on my own, I would perhaps been daunted by the sheer magnitude of the task. Maybe I would have chickened out and lost my chance to have one. I am therefore glad that I was too short-sighted to glimpse into the future. [...]

Thank God for Friends

I went with Jackie this morning to drop off Kirsten at the airport. The sun is just starting to rise over the Atlantic and it is going to be another gorgeous day on the southern tip of Africa. Last night I had a chance to go out with the girls for a little farewell dinner, [...]