Sunday, February 05, 2006

CHIKKIN & STUFF

Let me introduce you to my baby boy (all 6'4" & 100kg of him!) & his baby girl. I've grown up giving family & friends nicknames, so it's not surprising that the next generation of the family has her own

nickname - 'Chikkin'. I was lucky enough to nut over to Dublin a few weeks after her birth & had the pleasure of holding her for real........my first grandchild! 'Grandad' hasn't seen her yet, but is counting the days until we go home to the Eastern Cape in May, cos then he'll get to hold her & fuss over her & love her to bits............ag shame hey!

I missed going to the Rehab centre last week, as I had the chance to go to Dubai & get my drivers license. Hubs had a nightmare experience in getting his, so I wasn't too keen on getting mine..........just assuming I would get a heap of hassles. Hey, waddaya know..........my license was issued within 20 minutes! Shock horror! Hubs was stunned, I was stunned.......20 minutes, no aggro, no attitude, no hassles! Do I get a place in the UAE Book Of Records For Getting Things Done Without A Shitload Of Problems? (Currently No.473 on the Best-seller list)And.............yep, there's an 'and'..................I got my e-gate card at Dubai airport, also issued within 15 minutes! I am now officially sorted!

Now, my co-ordination is not very good at the best of times...........Spadge (my son) cracks up laughing at me when I try & catch a ball as it normally hits me in the face before my hands get the signal from the sludge to 'catch'. So, now that I'm legal as it were, you can understand why I'm just a tad hesitant to drive over here, especially considering I've never driven a left hand drive vehicle. Ah, well, I gave in a few days ago & got behind the wheel.........eeeeeeeek! Hubs & I went to Fujairah (more on that later) & it was suggested I take over the driving duties for a while. Ten minutes seemed like an eternity. My fingers cramped from the white knuckle death grip I had on the steering wheel & I got an instant tension headache. Hubs didn't help the situation by giving me sidewards glances & the odd panic stricken shriek of "get away from the kerb!" There wasn't a bloody kerb in sight - just a white line demarcating the edge of the road! I managed quite confidently to overtake a slow car & maneuver my way around a circle without giving hubs palpitations, but I gotta admit, I wasn't keen driving. I guess I'm just too used to driving our car at home, especially on the 'other' side of the road. Oh well, I've made a start, so no doubt I'll be venturing out now & again in the near future. I think I'll get hubs some tranquilisers or give him a coupla stiff shots of JD before he suggests I take over the wheel again :-)

I went to the Rehab centre this morning & was once again rewarded with so many smiles. I don't know if someone important is visiting the centre today or what the occasion was, but all the patients were smartly dressed in their 'Sunday best' thobes & the ward where they're kept was rearranged totally. All beds were gone & the patients were all placed in supportive chairs or on sofas. I always greet 'the guys' (bless 'em) in Arabic, but thereafter tend to speak to them in Afrikaans, which is kinda weird I s'pose? Stranger still, I tend to say my farewell in Chichewa! OK, I'm, 'different' I know! The 'guys' got all excited as soon as the music started & several were lost in their own little worlds. One of my 'favourites - whom I shall call Gummy - held my hands for so long.............he felt all of my fingers & then it was almost if he analysed the rings I wear.........his own fingers were so inquisitive, so gentle. He can see & hear, but cannot speak or even make himself understood in any way. He can smile though & he can wave his arms & fragile little legs in excitement when he hears the music. Myself & another volunteer managed to get one of the patients up on his feet & take him for a walk around the ward. Apart from having Down's Syndrome - admittedly quite severe - there's little else wrong with him. He sits for hours, cross-legged on his bed & stares into space or rocks gently back & forth. I was told that he'd broken a foot sometime last year, which seemed to ground him almost permanently. There's very little wrong with his feet or his legs now, so with a bit of encouragement, he had a nice little walkabout. He gave me a hug twice today, so I feel really privileged :-)

In wrapping up for today, let me finish with a Tailpiece................

A MAN and his wife were sitting in their living room when he said to her: "Just so you know, I never want to live in a vegetable state, dependent on some machine and fluids from a bottle. If that ever happens, just pull the plug."
So his wife got up, unplugged the TV, and threw out all his beer.

Posted by Jayne :: 10:39 :: 3 Had Somminc To Say

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