Mick, me, Zoze and Biff.
For a couple of years now, I’ve been capturing memories. The good, the bad and the ugly ones.
The impetus behind this originally was that my family has very little information about our parents’ past. Just a few anecdotal stories handed around. Our mother was very, very tight-lipped, way beyond the stiff upper lip of her generation. We had maybe a couple of stories from her youth that she may have mentioned in passing. But probably got from our grandmother who I barely remember.
I didn’t want that for my kids and their kids. So I started writing down memories when they popped up. Sometimes triggered by a smell, a song on the radio or an old picture. Or a remark made by someone else about their parents. When that happens, the memories snowball!
Then they get written down as I remember. Not dated or categorized and written so quickly that there is no time to check spelling (but Word is good about that) or grammar or any of that stuff. It’s just raw.
Now, with time on my hands, locked down here in South Africa, I can spend more time on the project.
Each time I talk to the family, I try to get more - and it usually works when I start off with “Do you remember when…” or “Remember when…” and then that gets the ball rolling and all sorts of stories come out!
I was probably 4?
Zoze and I talk a lot and often the conversations are far-reaching and filled with memories. The fun part of all this is, even though we both may have been present during the memory time or event, we remember things so differently. And we remember different things, which then, of course, trigger more memories. She is also recording her thoughts.
Yesterday, talking to Biff (oldest brother) I asked him to write his memories as well. He has done some and I hope he continues. Of course, his memories focus around cars and it’s fun to hear things that I had no clue about. And if I do have a memory of an incident, like a car ending up stuck in an azalea bush, I remember the big plant, he remembers the type of car!
I’m hoping Mick starts doing it too.
What I want to do is compile all four documents/memories and if we all have a memory of a particular event, put them together so there is a complete picture!
It’s Day 11 of the South African Lockdown
Being in isolation and completely on my own is a challenge, even with all the past experience!
Yesterday was a big day, as I went to the grocery store! It was very early, right when the store opens and there weren’t a lot of people. I’d say 95% of the ones there wore masks, which I did too, the one I made last week. Everyone there was very considerate, practising social distancing etc.
It was such a relief to just be able to be away from the house. We here are not allowed to go out to even walk so the confinement is complete. Fortunately, I have big windows and can walk out into the garden. The pool is there but I haven’t been swimming, as it has so much chlorine in it!
A big plus, so far of the lockdown, is that there has been no load shedding! It’s a plus too, for the power company as they are able to use the time to do some of the maintenance to the power plants that are desperately in need of upkeep.
Keeping busy is the biggest challenge, so I have set up a bit of a routine and do my best to stick to it.
Currently, I have a daily online exercise class, an Oprah and Deepak meditation, Duolingo Spanish class and the underwear site to maintain. Plus the basic housekeeping chores as Jabu is not here. (Oh dear, I have un-ironed clothes!)
Yesterday, I made a sourdough starter, just for something to do, although whether I make the bread or not is a question, as it will be too tempting to eat a whole lot, hot with butter, when it comes out of the oven! And as I am the only one here, it would be sad for it to go to waste. (Of course, I can freeze it!)
As we enter the second half of the lockdown, I’m wondering, as are a lot of others, when the announcement of an extension will come. From the experiences in other countries, it doesn’t seem as if three weeks is a long enough time to “flatten the curve,” so I am expecting that in the next week, the Pres will let us know.
In the meantime…