Sunday afternoons can be the worst time of the week... Especially after a welcome break from normal life. It is usually the time when my brain starts running wild.
The first thoughts to start churning are usually related to the usual worries of normal life ahead. Finances; admin; juggling personal, work and family time on a pretty full schedule; work deadlines; office resource constraints; arguing with lazy contractors and dealing with emotional + unrealistic architects; corporate bullshit; etc.
Nostalgia seems to always surface as well... Thinking of good times; missed opportunities; missing old friends and acquaintances.
I never really miss my school years. School was boring and quite frankly we were not really at the point of figuring out who we really were. I do miss the simplicity of those days, roaming the streets with friends and the life we had though. Thoughts related to those days never really surface. Guess I've moved on. Giving up a home there at the end of school and moving to a University on the other side of the country pretty much put a bullet in the head of that life stage.
My University years are a different story. It was a great time. Four years of hard work and freedom with awesome people who I will have lasting connections with for the rest of my life. Reckon it will be a part of my life I will always cherish.
During this time I have made friends who will be part of my life forever. It is such a great feeling when you have friends who you can spend time with as if the last time you saw them was yesterday, when in fact you haven't spent any time with them in years... Almost like there is some kind of eternal bond. The relationships are more akin to that with a brother than normal friendship.
I really wish our group of friends were closer to each other geographically; able to spend more time together; and share our lives with each other. Unfortunately we are scattered across the country and the globe... From Hong Kong to Cape Town to Johannesburg to England to The United States... Despite our bond we are slowly growing apart as each builds their own lives wherever that may be...
Today I really miss them...
A fair portion of our little circle of friends have moved away for good and will most probably never really return to South Africa. To put it bluntly, the new regime in charge have fucked up a lot of good things in this country!! As a result many educated, younger people opted out...
Some days I also wonder at what point do you decide to call it quits... Say TIA (This Is Africa)... Fuck this shit, pack up and try to build a life elsewhere...
It is not an easy decision. It would mean leaving a support structure and many things you've built up behind. It will result in effectively ripping family structures apart... Kids not able to see their grandparents and cousins as often as they should. And me not having my brother just in the next neighbourhood.
Ah well... For now... Let's rather focus on the present. Time to sit in the sun and watch the little one and cat play outside
