Most of all it’s about coffee, because without coffee my wonderful, sublimely talented and unique mother and I, might murder each other. That’s right, folks—death on an ordinary afternoon in suburbia, and the worst part of this drama is that the protagonists love each other, muchness!
What is it about life in its actuality that makes compatible people, people who like each other, turn into vessels of irritation for each other? Well, I’m not sure! However, there are a few home truths I do know. The first is that I can make a list of irritations, as can she. The next is that no matter how long the list is, we can both negate it by offering traits about each other that are one-of-a-kind superpowers.
In the underbelly of the ordinary, my mom is extraordinary. She is a special kind of awesome that tunes my soul, perfectly. She’s the reason in the confusion, the light in the abyss, the sparkle in the night sky. Yes, she is! Obviously, I’m none of these things for her. Mostly, I’m a procrastinator that sends her temperature soaring to boiling. The thing is that, generally (cautionary note here ***), she knows how to ignore me. She knows how to get through the day without high drama. But, then again, there are times…
She didn’t choose to end up living with an adult daughter, no! She wanted to travel, climb high mountains and practice yoga on a hill of meditation in a far-flung, exotic destination. Unfortunately, for her, she meditates about how to stay calm in the storm that I provide on a daily basis. She’s learnt to deal with insanity by boiling a kettle and furnishing the French Press. Ha! It’s simple! Ask her and she’ll tell you that coffee is her defence in an offensive world; a world in which her daughter stalks, uninhibited, and is obtrusivly obstreperous.
Between us, we’ve had more than a few marriages, many sad deaths, loads of interesting children and siblings, ambitions and disappointments. We’ve been in business together and been very successful, but we’ve also seen the black-side of failure. We’ve learned how to be a functional disagree-to-agree team. We’ve learned how!
So we sit, her and I, and we chat about the news of the day, the ailments and achievements of our pets, our past loves and our hopes and dreams, but we could never do it if it wasn’t over a cup of aromatic Brazilian brew.
Generally, on Mother’s Day, we go somewhere scenic, get away from the rat-race and just enjoy a different vibe.
The good times!
Here we ventured to the Drakensberg in 2017
Here we swam at Ballito
Here we vacationed in Clarens, a sleepy town on the incline of the Lesotho mountains
Here we ventured out to a local restaurant with our Yorkie
And, here we celebrated at home
