Update On Almost Everything (Crystal Springs And Swaziland)

You may have noticed that things have been a bit off kilter around here lately, with my usual schedules going totally out of the window. That’s mainly been because my life has been like that, these last few weeks.

When my sickness was really bad, and my dad invited Ameli and myself to join him and my mom on their five-African-country tour, I obliged, because, really, even sitting in a car as a passenger is definitely easier than trying to entertain a toddler and maintain a home under these conditions.

Since arriving, things have been much easier. I’m not sure if it’s the sunshine, or the greatly reduced responsibility of child care, or more importantly, the lessened guilt over the “neglect” my poor little girl was experiencing and the added pressure on my husband to not only provide for us, but also look after us, and take over day to day  responsibility for the house as well as being primary caregiver to Ameli.

So far it’s been a good trip. I’ve been taking one Ondansetron tablet in the mornings (that’s Zofran in the US) and while I have major concerns about it and fears about it’s potential effects on my unborn baby, I realise that vomiting all day, and being dehydrated, starving, rapid weight loss and so on, aren’t good for the baby either. While I feel a definite sense of failure over the drugs my unborn child is receiving, I know the alternatives, and I know that I don’t have the strength of body, spirit or mind, right now, to choose to be sick all the time.  I don’t think it’s good for me or Ameli right now either.

We spent a week in Crystal Springs, a resort in the Mpumalanga region of South Africa. It’s a beautiful place Martin and I spent time at earlier in the year, and my family and I have spent many weeks there over the years too. It’s quiet, it’s peaceful,  we have a fireplace for the cold nights, and the biggest problem is chasing baboons out if you leave the windows open.

From there we travelled to Swaziland, a kingdom within the borders of South Africa and found an amazing little village style resort, built in the traditional thatched bungalow style with a larger bungalow in the centre, serving as the food area – in this case, a restaurant.

An incredibly poor country, Swaziland is also an intensely beautiful, hilly, and friendly place. I’m sorry we weren’t able to spend more time there.

Our next stop was Mozambique. It’s a place I’ve always wanted to go, but have never managed to get to, and it was an incredible experience. I have so much in my mind and heart to share about Mozambique, but I will do so another time. I have to process it all first, I guess.