Icing up in Isolation...

Sitting in my cold office on a cold day with my boss on leave down the coast with his family. Do you think anyone would notice if I wasn't even here. Nice try - I would notice! I'm my own policeman. I have a welldeveloped sense of duty and at least one of my children has also developed this 'ability'.

Robynne is having to move at the end of June and so far the perfect home eludes her. This fact is causing her some stress at the moment and it seems the stress is falling squarely on her shoulders. She, her boyfriend and her female friend who is sharing their current accommodation, along with all the furries are looking for alternate accommodation and their needs are not so simple. If it were just her and the boyfriend, a granny flat with its own small fenced off garden would suffice and it seems that there are several of those available. However, with her friend in tow, they must find a 2 bedroom, preferably 2 bathroom townhouse/duplex/simplex with its own garden, pet friendly and safe parking for 3 cars! This must also be situated fairly close to or in the vicinity of Sandton and must be affordable. (It might be easier to find a house on the moon!). It might be easier if her friend decides to find her own alternate accommodation but Robynne is a very loyal friend and they help each other out and she will never push her friend out just to make her own life easier.

It would be easier to have less of a sense of duty or loyalty but I don't think Robynne and certainly not I would want to be that kind of a person. It just wouldn't sit right on us. I also think its part of having leadership qualities for people to lean on you and expect you to sort things out but being in that situation can take its toll and those who are doers must learn not to overtax themselves and to learn to say no and delegate or relegate duties and tasks to others. With my mom, its her church's care team and all the work they do. With Robynne, its her friends and increasingly, her pets. With me, my work, children and home and of course, my horde of kitties. We absorb so much that we eventually reach our limit. I wouldn't want to change as a caring and responsible person but a slight adjustment of duties and responsibilities can only improve our stress levels, patience and just the time to relax.

I was invited to my mom's for supper last night. The boys didn't want to come. Before going round to mom's, I went home and as I drove up the driveway, I could see everyone jumping around cleaning up. I hadn't washed the night before's dishes, not even that morning before work and they had been added to that day so there was a huge amount. Dael was tackling those. 'S' and Bradley were running around cleaning up the lounge. It only took a couple of weeks of ranting and raving (the boys call it 'rapping') to get them to this stage. I changed to some warmer clothes and left them to it. I got home again after a delicious chicken supper with the boys' share in a container. The kitchen was by no means perfect and some of the dishes weren't even that clean but the fact remains that the boys are doing chores, even if its at the last minute as I appear! I fed the cats and finished off the kitchen a little more and then settled down for the evening's soccer game - Italy vs Paraguy. I had heard that the Italian players were very goodlooking and as the defending champions, I was expecting an exciting game. I was disappointed on both counts and ended up falling asleep. I heard later that the game drew 1 all but even the boys found it boring. Maybe the freezing rainy weather in Cape Town affected the players.

I'm looking forward to the public holiday tomorrow so that I can snuggle in and do some knitting or reading or watch tv. And no sense of guilt that I should be doing something else if the weather is rainy and freezing too. What else can be done on a cold day other than vegetate!