It's 6:51 am and I am knackered. I sat in the back with my brother until 2 am just talking and even though we both were looking at one another with raccoon eyes we eventually only conceded to our tired bodies 2 hours after midnight. And such is the expat life. Although I now live back in South Africa he and his family live in the UK. Any time spent with one another is gold. I am part of a family of 6 and although I now see my third brother twice a year I have not been with my parents or other brothers in years. It's not the way it should be.
Without depressing anyone, the South African reality of grandparents never seeing their grandchildren or the wider family setup being disrupted because someone in the "village" lives in another country, is sad and well, as I said not how it should be. It is only fair to mention that it is not unique to South Africa but the reality of the developing world. It is also fair to say that before 1994 most white folk in South Africa did not taste this reality. Now it is part of South Africa as a whole.
All in all, it sucks and as I grow older it sucks even more. Life is short but we treat our lives as if our days are infinite. The reality is our days left to spend near and with family become desperately shorter by the day. We all have to do what we believe we have to but our days alive and together are priceless. Are we treating it as such?
Comments