my dam day
Easter is synonymous with spring. But the new-life analogies are lost here in Africa since we’re heading into autumn rather than spring. Actually, we’re bypassing fall and heading straight into winter. We tend to go right from one extreme to the next, and most Africans don’t know what you mean when you refer to any season beside winter or summer. Overnight, our 73-degree weather melted into the 40′s, and it rained nonstop for 5 days straight. Wet and cold is a bad combination when you don’t have indoor heating.
Wednesday was supposed to be our dam day. (FYI: Since most bodies of water in South Africa are man-made, they’re called dams rather than lakes.) Some of our interns wanted to be baptized, and we planned to make a day of it—staying to celebrate with a barbecue and some fun in the water with the wave runners. But with the nasty weather preceding it, Wednesday wasn’t looking too hopeful.
I awoke that morning and peeked out the window—cloudy and dreary, but not raining. Hmph. I decided to do the “big shave” in the shower, just in case. (I hadn’t shaved in a long time… it adds an extra layer of warmth… almost like wearing Under Armour leggings.) I hoped it was going to be worth the effort.
At 10:00, the clouds started clearing and we decided to give it a go. So glad we did…
It ended up being over 80 degrees! The sky was bright and clear, the water was warm, and we all had a really great time. It was a memorable day for the baptizees, that’s for sure.
I love having a dam day every once in a while.
LOL – “i love having a dam day……” you ain’t right.
i’ve read this twice, and both times i’ve read “peeked” as peed. peed out the window?
what’s WRONG with me?!?
and i JUST got the SEVEN hour difference down when the time changed… now we’re at SIX hours… JUST when i think i can do this, you throw the whole upside down seasons in the picture?!? …..my head just fell off.
while Mandy goes to find her head…
:o)
That that you were able to have good weather for the baptism. I got the post yesterday on my reader as well and went to see the pics on face book. Looks like a great day was had by all.
The weather thing is mixed up here too. We just got out of summer=rainy season and now we will have a few months of warm before it gets cold and windy for winter (June – August).
Have I ever mentioned… I really enjoy reading your blog; it’s so refreshing, fun and unique.
Have a good Easter!
*repeat sentiments from yesterday*
:)
I’m glad the big shave was worth it.
There’s nothing more frustrating than going through all that trouble only to have goosebump induced stubble within hours of showering.
I think there is something poetic about that sentence. I keep rereading it, but can’t quite put my finger on it.
Anyway, we just had a huge snowstorm after several days of warm, so the weather inversion is complete.
What a great story.
Those pictures were wonderful!
My heart is beaming.
I wish so badly to have been there.
Love you.
Natalie: i don’t know you well enough to know, but please tell me you’re being sarcastic about not seeing the poetry? :)
trouble – stubble
hour – shower
you wanna write my next set of song lyrics for me?!?
sounds fun :0 Stirkfontein I suppose? (if you can make out my crazy spelling…) Can’t wait to get my hands on one of those wave runners… YIPEEEE!!
Mandy: I dip my toes in the songwriting world every once in a while, but I’m not a performer.
I guess I meant that I felt there was something lyrical, like… I could have continued with it.
“Imagine using the razor
To do him a favor
Shaving not only one leg, but both.
Yet for all of your trouble
you still have that stubble
Cause the cold causes goosebumps and growth.”
ok, now I have the giggles…..
talia – ha ha ha! i wish i could see you as you sang that… swaying and snapping, too, of course. (make a snow angel for me!)
kitty – yep. sterkfontein. it was beautiful! and hopefully we’ll still have a waverunner by the time you get here… we’re *supposed* to be selling them…
becca – you’d have really enjoyed the whole day!
angigi – thanks for the kind words! and i’m glad you looked at the pictures!
mandylion – what IS wrong with you?! i laughed at you reading “peed” instead of “peeked”. ha! did you find your head yet? it’s easter here already. i’m praying for you…
oh, how i miss sterkfontein now! in SA we know it as jet ski’s….or is it two different things??
I’m so excited for you guys. Here’s to more “dam days”.
melissita — technically jet skis are the ones you stand up on, but we tend to use that name interchangabley here in SA…
pete — cheers!
thanks for the prayers…. really.