Blistering, sweltering, skin-shrivelling heat notwithstanding- I ♥ summer!!!

Whew, but yesterday was hot!!

Which meant that we ended up at our usual river spot. The temperature in that part of the world had soared beyond 38 degrees Celsius.

However, the temperature of the water was- perfect.

The place was uncharacteristically busy, which made our peaceful and tranquil retreat somewhat more vibey. But it didn't matter; we just clamoured further upstream where the water was shallower (no higher than knee-depth) but excitingly flowed more rapidly and forcefully. One's powerlessness against the sheer force of the water was thoroughly exhilarating.

The arrangement of the rocks created mini-rapids and we derived much pleasure and excitement from trying to prevent ourselves from being washed downstream. Mo held 2 year old Aisha at a section where the water was moving slightly less forcefully, but strongly enough to provide a thrilling experience for her as it gushed against her body.

"Oooh I shower!!" she yelled elatedly.

But eventually the excitement became a bit too much so, giggling hysterically, she urged her dad to switch off the tap.

The intense heat meant that one had to remain submerged in the water all the time. Especially in my case since I was wearing my Billabong second-skin type top. Which was black. With long sleeves. (The memory alone makes me perspire).

As usual, I ran after the children- sunscreen bottle in hand- slathering the thick creamy liquid liberally over every exposed part of their bodies. Repeatedly.

"This is my favourite place to swim," one of the kids declared. They then each shouted out their preferences- pools, beaches, rivers.

"What is your favourite place to swim, Mommy?"

Before I could answer, 7 year old Nuha interjected shyly. "Mommy's favourite place FOR US to swim would be a pool filled with sunscreen instead of water. Then she won't have to worry about us being protected from the sun".

How did she know?

As usual, we had an amazing time. Instead of barbequing/braaing (which would most likely have caused Mo to suffer from a heat stroke), we enjoyed a yummy, greasy, artery-clogging KFC family meal.

On the walk back to the car we became drenched with perspiration once again. If only we didn't have to leave!! Ten year old Tharaa and I settled for cooling off by running through the sprinklers instead.

As unbearable as the February heat has been, I still felt sad when I popped in at Woolworths on Saturday and saw all the Autumn/Winter clothes already on display. What were they doing? I'm not ready for winter yet. Despite the uncomfortable heat (and the fact that our car's air-conditioning has been broken since last year) summer is still my happy time. I'm not ready for it to end yet!

Oh well, I suppose that all I need is a mindset change. I need to start thinking about interesting and exciting family time which can be shared in winter.

Right now though, I'm taking Aisha outside to enjoy splashing in the plastic pool. I plan to glean every last second of fun from what's left of our magnificent Cape Town summer.

Bliss- on a school afternoon!

Even though school is already in full swing this week, at home we are still slowly making the adjustment from the holiday.


The fact that we have in Cape Town been enjoying 'summer holiday weather' this week does not help matters. We still have not taken down the plastic pool- it is quite large, so draining all the water is a long guilt inducing process (I can't bear to watch all that water simply flow away, considering the water-shortages in so many parts of the world). We shall therefore only take it down once we are certain that all the sweltering summer days are behind us.


When fetching the kids from school, the nerve-wracking drive through the blistering heat in the city centre has me completely wilted by the time I get home. So today I joined them in their pool much to their delight. The cool refreshing water revitalised me immediately. I spent a blissful 45 minutes playing with the kids and just lazing about in the water with them before coming inside to prepare dinner.


So with lifted spirits the kids are now tackling their homework- and they are certainly being much more productive than they would have been had they not enjoyed their rejuvenating afternoon splash.

Water babies

A few days ago Mo announced that he had an appointment in Gansbaai this morning. Since it is a two-hour drive to the little town, he thought we could all tag along- pack a picnic basket and the kids' bathing costumes- and make a day of it.

But it was not to be. Due to circumstances beyond our control, we had been unable to accompany him, which meant that I spent all day home alone with the kids. But I was not as perturbed at the thought as one might have expected-  the two and a half hour drive to Gansbaai with Aisha screaming in her car seat had been a far more daunting prospect.

If I had been at all concerned about how to keep them entertained for the entire day, I needn't have been.

My four kids love water. Give them access to water (whether in the form of a swimming pool, beach, dam, pond or puddle), and they are able to keep themselves busy for hours on end.

Since we do not have a built in swimming pool, their father bought them a 4m (diameter) x 1m (height) plastic pool last year. It was heaven (for me). Apart from the perpetually wet floors covered in wet towels, the fact that they were always happily entertaining themselves (and then-one year old Aisha) worked out very well for me.

But since Mo had, by the time he left this morning, not had the opportunity to set up the pool, which takes an eternity to fill with water, the kids had to find another way to cool down. I had faith in them- I was certain that they'd find some or other water source to keep them happy.

And soon their shrieks of delight could be heard, along with the sound of splashing water. Just to be sure that they weren't cooling off in drain water, I went out to check and found all four of them splashing about in two-year old Aisha's tiny little splash pool.

Believe it or not, that kept them busy for the entire afternoon.

We had a little lunch picnic in the back garden. Since Mo was not home, my healthy eating regime could be enforced unopposed. Lunch consisted of grilled chicken and potatoes, accompanied by a mixed vegetable and summer fruit salad. Had Mo been home, he would have insisted upon additional carbs in the form of garlic bread, rice or a french loaf.

My response to their question, "What's for dessert?" was met with howls of laughter when I told them that I would be serving them an assortment of sliced fruit.

Later after they had all bathed, there were still complaints about the heat. Since I had expressly forbidden them from re-entering Aisha's little splash pool, I should not have been surprised when I found them splashing about in the pond/water feature in the front garden.

Now at 20:20 in the evening, after having reached a negotiated settlement- they are once again being allowed to play in Aisha's splash pool (despite my earlier prohibition)- but are only allowed to wet their feet. The negotiations had started with them proposing the waist-high submergence of their bodies in the water, so with the finally-agreed-upon foot-wetting, I'd say I had fared pretty well in the negotiations, wouldn't you?