Ian and I have left the bitter cold of an Eswatini winter (daily low of 45F/7C to highs of 80F/27C) and are now in Canada enjoying the best of Canadian weather … summer! We have not been in Canada in the summer in almost 20 years, and it is glorious! Our whole family is together for the first time in a very long time, and I am so happy. In fact, we are with Ian’s parents, all his brothers and his sister and their children for a family wedding. This will be followed by a few days in the Muskoka’s with friends and more family time. Family fun, weddings and days on the lake remind me of my youth…the good old days.
Before we left, we wanted to spend as much time with our Swazi children as we could, so Ian and I were hanging out at my office, which is on the top floor of our O2 building on the PC Children’s campus. It’s where kids can come to work on a puzzle, play soccer on my iPad (a BIG draw for the older boys), do word searches, sudoku, or flip through food magazines. Ian took our cribbage board to teach the kids how to play crib. After a couple of games, the girls asked Ian if he knew how to play Crazy 8’s, which of course he did, and they switched to that for a while. Maybe our kids will have fond memories of days like these when they are older, and they will be “the good old days”.
Next, Rachel asked Ian if he knew how to play “AK-47”? He said no, and asked them to teach him. I was doing a puzzle with Ruth and Hope, and asked them if they knew that an AK-47 was a gun. Oh yes, of course they did. They went on to explain that the point of the game is to get four cards that spell AK47 and then you can decide who you can kill. WHAT???? Yep, that’s one of their favorites.
I remember when we were first serving in Africa in 2005. The civil war in Mozambique had ended in 1992, and there was a wave of AK-47’s crossing the border into South Africa. That was when I first heard about this machine gun. At the time they could be purchased for $10 USD (not that we were in the market). As I googled them for this blog, I learned that the price for a new one is up to $50US, but criminal gangs in South Africa rent them out for $5.00US. Sheesh.
The “good old days” look different around the world, and I am hoping that we can eliminate this game from our kids “play list”, and go back to more innocent games. There is still lots of time for them to be exposed to the harsh world outside our gates, and one which they will be a part of. Sitting playing games, answering questions about life and listening to “trash talk” is a great way to learn what is on our kids’ minds. Spencer and Jane gave me a beautiful photo album from their wedding and the kids sit and look through it over and over again, asking who this person is, why did they choose those flowers, what did you eat? You can tell they are trying to figure out the “nuclear family” vs. their ever-growing family. I was asked where the wedding took place. I explained that it was at Jane’s parent’s house. Then they asked if Ian and I got married at the same location? I said no, because I didn’t even know Jane’s family in 1991 when we got married. The look of shock and confusion was priceless as they tried to figure out where to put that piece of the puzzle in their mind.
I hope that you are enjoying a peace-filled summer and making good memories that will last a lifetime.
Janine