For those that know me and know me well, know that when I've gone 'off-the-grid' it can mean one of two things;
A/ I've won the EuroMillions and have acquired a brand new life and brand new friends
B/ I've gotten the sulks and don't feel like talking to anyone about anything (also known as 'the sh*!s')
For the last 10 days I've had the 'semi-sh*!s', semi because to completely withdraw into myself and not talk to anyone about anything, would be considered completely rude and somewhat improper. But I won't lie, the last 10 days have been hard.
So the good; seeing family and friends again. This is always good, great even. And seeing Oscar being held and cuddled by his loving immediate and extended family has been an absolute blessing. He's met his Great Granny Rhoda, who defended his honour when told he looked like a little girl. We knew Oscar was/is an amazing little child but for others to bare witness to this too has been magical. Oscar is exactly 4 months old today...who would've thought that we'd be back here. Just goes to show that a lot can happen in 4 short months.
Another good thing was the flight over as well as the flight down to PE yesterday. I'd been secretly dreading this as I thought that our child might decide to use this moment to turn into his alter ego and be a complete nightmare! So many friends wanted to know how Oscar managed and I'm happy to report he was a star, a rock star. He slept, ate and behaved as he normally does. He even flirted with the Virgin Atlantic cabin crew! We, on the other hand, were over prepared for the flight over. Why I thought we needed 5 bottles, 10 nappies and 3 outfit changes for a 10hr flight, goodness only knows! We were better prepared yesterday for the flight down; 1 bottle, 2 nappies and 1 warm zip-up top were just fine. More baby-wipes were needed though when Oscar decided to urinate up-against the side panel of the insanely small airplane toilet, as he lay (almost doubled over) on the insanely small changing table with a badly designed and dangerous gap between the table and the metal toilet bowl below (future domestic travelling parents - you've been warned!).
The bad; the weather. It rained for 6 days solid in Johannesburg. And it's rained all day again today. Enough said. Karma's payback for me bragging about the awesome weather we were heading into! This has possibly turned out to be a good thing I suppose as it's given Oscar the opportunity to acclimatise to his new surroundings. For the last 4 months I'm pretty sure he's thought his legs were made out of cotton as he's never really caught more than a 5 second glimpse between changes.
Living out of a suitcase isn't exactly a picnic either, especially with a baby. Tripping over bags while trying to navigate the early morning feed has been challenging. We no-longer take turns with this, as we would've done in London, as we're all within really close proximity to one another. I don't think Oscar has noticed much change to his normal surroundings, he has Dudley and SleepSheep by his side so all is good in the world. But you can see he is trying to figure out why we look a little fuzzy as he gazes up at us from his cot...mosquito nets take some getting used to.
The ugly; the stark realisation that we are, in fact, in Africa after all. I miss the internet. No, let me rephrase that, I miss Wi-Fi. Fast Wi-Fi.
But as my big sister would say; it's time for me to put my big girl knickers, build a bridge and get over it. We're here. And we better make the most of it...when it stops raining of course.
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