Sunday 1 August 2010

Sunday Speak {The Visitors...}





Funny, after announcing that "It's Happening..." on Monday of last week, re:- setting up a "personal" blog, I've thought about it a lot & decided against it FOR NOW, mainly because a) I'm not sure how much relevant & entertaining/thought-provoking content I can keep churning out on a regular/consistent basis b) I would have to work very hard to find more of an audience for it to make it worthwhile in my opinion, & that takes time, time I've realised that I don't have if I want to stick to my priorities.

During the week there's hardly time to get the content sorted, photographed & the post up & coherent, not to mention reciprocating my commenters & keeping up with all their blogs & more that I also find inspiring/ interesting/educational/plain darn hilarious... etc...soooooooooooooo...for now I've decided to stick to saying it here, until I have the time and/or more inclination to establish another blog from scratch again.


This week...well... Still reeling from my visitors cancelling at the absolute enth hour, once our fridge {a split fridge/freezer so the fridge is the size of a bar fridge really...} was absolutely PACKED TO CAPACITY & the pantry cupboard was burgeoning with goodies I knew they would appreciate {ie:- their favourite brand of coffee, chocolates that I am not supposed to be eating right now but know that now they are there "going begging" I will succumb to them eventually}. It seemed it simply wasn't a good time for them, for reasons to be honest I couldn't get to grips with BUT now they are phoning every alternate day to "make another plan" & to be honest I'm all planned out...

There is NO good time for us...unless they want to wait another 10 years or so until Cami has matriculated! I think they may have been overwhelmed {during the 6 week run-up to their visit} by our hectic schedule {conveyed during phone calls} & ,being vehicleless & unable to afford to hire a car here, realised that they would be sitting around here a lot or being delivered somewhere & collected a few hours later.


I have a gorgeous car that I have been paying off for the last 4 years - only have another couple of months to go on it - then DH is upgrading his {nearly 20 years later I kid you not...} & DD needs one too now that she is nearly 18 & needs to get herself to uni next year - a fair distance away - & public transport not being a safe & reliable option here, so I wasn't forthcoming in offering up my vehicle for their use.

I work from home so once I have dropped kids off @ school I'm at my desk 8 - 1 at least, then the afternoons are consumed with kiddies needs & activities plus household maintenance tasks like grocery shopping/ arranging for the alarm to be repaired {or whatever is on the blink @ the time} so we don't invite people to stay for 2 reasons:-

1) We have no spare bedroom or even spare beds or even space for a spare bed! 2) We have little time to spend socialising with them should they invite themselves to visit. Sad but unfortunately true. Who can take 3 weeks leave mid-year {not only from work but also from "life" & all that that entails when you are responsible for a home & family}??? Could YOU do it? I'd really be interested to know!




7 comments:

Shayne said...

Honestly?

If I really wanted to do it, then yes I could. We have a very different lifestyle to city peoples - thank the Lord. All it would take would be a little bit of organising and it could definately be done - in fact, i'm in the planning stages of a 3 week family vacation Aug/Sept next year. I think i'm fortunate in that my eldest does exceptionally well at school - so to keep her out is not an issue as i get all the work and get it done prior to whilst we are away. And Polly is not at school so that is no effort really. And if DH and I wanted a 2 week break on our own - it could be done as are blessed to have a fab support group to farm out our kids too.

I think that it depends on your mindset, to a large degree. Too often we get bogged down by the daily treadmill that is life!

Stefanie said...

We took the kids out of school for 2 weeks and then were away for a week of their holidays as well. We have family staying with us every now and then, but we all get on really well. They help around the house and pay their way so they are an absolute pleasure really.
Sorry that you have been let down after you've done all the shopping, but maybe it is indeed for the best.

Stefanie said...

Oh, I meant to comment on the blog thing as well. I have wrestled with that self same issue, should I go private,have another one just for family and decided the same as you. Haven't got the energy or the inclination at the moment.

tania said...

ag nee!! maybe we should come down and visit you now and help you eat those choclates.lol!!
sorry to hear helen,and for a mid holiday in the year, nope, hubby working and with megan being in highschool, she only misses one class per subject, then the wheels come off!! we stick to weekend break aways.

Ella Swan said...

Hmmm...well Shayne & Stefanie I envy you! No matter what my mindset the harsh reality is that all our kids share a bathroom & we ALL share a geyser so there simply isn't enough hot water to go around let alone beds or even floor space FOR beds. That's the price you pay to live at the Coast & in the most sought after areas, which we have to with 4 kids in school here so, yes, farm life has it's upsides that's for sure! With a child in matric & one on an academic scholarship we could never get away with taking them out of school for even a week without dire consequences. I would love to be able to have the space to accomodate friends & family as our location is such a popular holiday destination but most visitors don't realise that life in Umhlanga doesn't involve much beach unless you're actually a tourist! Actually looking into adding an extra bedroom & bathroom upstairs but wouldn't relish more workers here for an extended period, nor the mess, and with university fees & a car for DD we can't afford it immediately {if ever} anyway, but worth finding out how much it would actually cost. I would have been fine with them cancelling before everything was in place for them to be here as it involved mass re-organisation to make space for their clothing, etc & reshuffling kids wardrobes for them to camp on each other's floors for 3 weeks, but 8 hours before they were scheduled to be arriving, well that's just not cricket!

topkatnz said...

Very happy to hear about your bloggy back-track - for now - totally agree with your reasoning. I was wondering how I was gonna have time to follow two blogs, let alone you having to run them! Wahoo!

Diana said...

I trust your friends do NOT read your blog!
Houseguests... I think it all depends on WHO. Some people I just love having around from morning to night. They tend to be self sufficient plus we tend to have a million things to talk about when there is a chance to just chat. But then there are the others whose visit you dread from before they even arrive... and when they're there all you can think of is, "I want my space back!"
You work...?