for as long as i can remember, may has always meant the end of a school year & the start of a summer vacation. i was so lucky to experience that once again this year, & trust me, the consistency was so appreciated.
may was just, AWESOME. i closed out term 1 with grading a handful exams which i didn’t mind doing one bit cause not only did i get a better look at where my students stand academically, but also because i was helping fellow teachers out, & through that i made some stronger connections, which makes me really happy.
after exams were graded, my PACT club embarked on planning FUN DAY! fun day is a day at the end of the term where the students get to enjoy themselves & well, have some fun! my kids did a tremendous job with a full set list of rapping, dancing, traditional performances, & dance battles. it was awesome & definitely a great, FUN, way of finishing out the term.
after the last day of school, it was time for my mini summer vacay! the anticipation had been killing me, but also getting me through the last month. they say all the excitement leading up to a big trip is sometimes just as fun as the actual trip, & my excitement was real. i was getting to see the mullers for the first time in a year & my momma for the first time in nine months!!
when the day finally came to fly off to cape town, i could barely contain myself. so much so, that our big plan to meet at the gate in the johannesburg airport was swallowed up by nerves, causing my family to nearly miss their flight & inducing our big reunion on the airplane with two minutes to take-off & my mom’s first words to me being, “kim kelly, i’m going to kill you!” hahah but all ended well & we were on our way!
let me preface this next segment with warning y’all about how absolutely obsessed i am with cape town, south africa. like literally, it’s perfect. each & every day i was taken away by the beauty of this city.
we hit the ground running exploring cape town on our very first full day. we saw table mountain in all it’s glory without a single drop of fog in the sky. we also visited hout bay market which was this neat little market on the bay with tonssss of food & little shops. in the next few days we proceeded to see all of the major attractions. we saw the waterfront, camps bay, robben island, long street, we went wine tasting, we saw the cape of good hope & we ate & we drank & we were merry. cape town has SO much to offer & although we tackled a good chunk of it, there was still so much left to do & see. we were really lucky with the weather since it is now our winter on this side of the hemisphere, & we got a whole week of sunshine & a second week of late afternoon sunshine. it truly was great. & as obsessed as i am with this city, i still have to say the best part was getting to spend time with my family.
i’ll admit, all seven of us in one house for fourteen days was, how do i say this, tight? haha. but i think we can all agree that that’s norm for the mullers, & without a little bickering & quarreling it wouldn’t be a family affair. 😉 but i loved having breakfast every morning together, & sharing clothes, & watching a bad movie, getting caught with wine on the beach, playing cards, passing the “hat”, having security come repeatedly cause we can’t figure out the alarm, photo shoots, inside jokes, celebrating when the driver says he’ll come & pick us up, laughing so hard we… & well, just being a beach family. 🙂
a lot of times during this experience you get this feeling, where your throat starts to tighten & your stomach drops & you think that everyone is moving on without you. this trip i was reminded that no matter how fast or where you or everyone around is moving onto, the people who love you aren’t doing so without you, they’re still gonna be there, right next to you, when you finally get the chance to be together again. laughing at all the same stupid jokes & arguing over which road to take. that was such an awesome epiphany to have & something i am so grateful for.
i’m also grateful that my family flew hours & hours to meet me. that they spent so much money, took time off work, drank instant coffee & did everything they could to send me back to botswana prepared for the next 16 months that lie ahead. i am so soooo incredibly lucky to have such an amazing support system, & to be a part of one great gene pool. 🙂
everything about may rocked. & i feel really good. coming back after such an awesome vacation was a little tough. but i was quickly welcomed back by students, my teachers & my neighbors. they wanted to know about my journey & they assured me i was missed, & that, that felt a little like coming “home”.
i’m ready for june now & term two & lots of new projects & attempting (crawling) my first half marathon. i’m feeling rejuvenated & supported & grateful & i have the mullers to thank for that. ❤
a leap into the unknown. 