August was the balm

August is school holiday month for our kids and this year we spent half of the holidays away from home, wrapped in community. Being in community is a salve for the isolation that comes with the routinised day to day of school going kids. We kicked off the holidays with a trip to theKruger National Parkwith two other families. We booked our stay in SanParks accommodations and did the full self drive and self catering experience. We were traveling as a group but staying in separate bungalows in the same camp. The kids got to move across the family cars, during the day, if they felt like it. Time spent with friends taking in the sightings of birds, reptiles, the big five, hippos impala and other gazelle. When in separate cars there was lots of walkie talkie chatter. We shared skottel brunch meals at picnic rest stops, had delicious communal dinners and debriefs about the day's sightings at night. The days were longer so that the adults could have evening chats, while some of the kids played and others put themselves to bed on settees. A few days after getting back to Kruger, the kids and I were off to Tunis to visit a friend and her family. My husband didn't come along due to work commitments. I have the privilege of flexibility to travel when the kids are on holidays. I find that the change of scenery does us all good. But, next time I won't do it so close to returning home from a bush trip. Because the stress of a 48 hour turnaround of unpacking and packing for an international trip is too much. The decision to do an international trip came after weighing up the cost of a local getaway plus holiday clubs to keep the kids entertained. Ultimately we opted for an option that exposed them to a different part of Africa. Being hosted in the home of a friend obviously made it even more compelling and cost effective. Tunisia is a French and Arabic speaking country, so it was an opportunity to get out of our comfort zone - linguistically, architecturally and culturally. It was a balm being in a warm home away from home. The kids are close in age, and even though they'd only just met, they got along like cousins. Her kids were on summer holidays & our kids on August holidays. They spent their days exploring before the heat got unbearable. Then in & out of the pool for the rest of the day. One morning they went to the market with Tunisian dinars to buy fruit, with a couple of French words and their 6 year old friend as translator. The nanny spoke French and Arabic. On another morning they went to buy bambalouni (Tunisian doughnut) and ice cream. Handing over notes and getting coins in change brought our 6 year old more joy than I could've imagined. She was so chuffed that she got so much money back. My friend has a nanny which meant I could joined her for a mat pilates class (instructed in French) on one day and we went to a traditional hammam followed by a thorough scrubbing and massage on another. It was a real holiday. As a group we visited Hammamet beach town for a weekend. Spent an entire Saturday in & out of the bluest and warmest waters I have ever been in, riding the calm waves all day. The kids could even walk in a few meters into the sea before needing to swim. The beauty of staying with friends was the opportunity to have unhurried conversations that spread over the day with ease. Starting over the morning espresso and ending with a glass of prosecco in hand, once the kids had been put to bed and we emerged from darkened bedrooms. Picking up little gems that come with being in someone else's space on an ordinary day. Such as adding red lentils when making tomato pasta sauce, to bump up the kid's fibre and protein intake. Tunis had the most amazing tomatoes, melons and pears. Our week long visit gave the kids time to settle into a nice groove together. In the mornings they'd wake up and listen out to hear if their friends were awake, if they heard a peep - out of the room they'd sprint. A little groove they'll remember long after the holiday is done. Such a long story to say I recommend traveling with kids and staying with friends. Bring lots of treats from home as a 'thank you for having us' gift. For our international friends I took over two bottles of South African wine for the adults and something lekker for the kids. Lots of rusks, nutticrust, dried fruit and speckled eggs. This was not our first time staying with friends, we'd done so a few years ago with friends in Washington D.C. Except that time I took along the Woolies canned tuna they loved as a gift. If you're worried about the dynamic of being in your friend's home for an extended period of time then make it 2 to 3 nights, short but sweet. Also what goes without saying is that friends should be people you actually like, whose company you find enriching and most importantly are people you can have your children around. Marvelling at our children's reactions as we show them the world, different cultures, cuisines, ways of doing things & toilets. Now let's get into, what I've been watching, reading and listening to. READING I finished the reading club read Hooked by Asako Yusuki. I'll save my comments for reading club. Somehow I thought it was the read for September and turns out it's actually for November. LOL. On top of that I missed September's reading club on the 3rd. In case you ever wonder about the state of my mind and organisation - here's a classic example. LISTENING I introduced a small segment'what my kids are loving'in July's substackBeing a better mother. I think it will be helpful to parent readers, Aunties and Uncles who are looking for new ideas. What my kids love listening to Our daughter really enjoys listening to stories to help her fall sleep. We use theYoto Player, which we've had for six years. Her current audio favourite isHotel Flamingo: the sunniest hotel in town. It's also available on Audible and paperback atExclusive books. Our son is into Formula 1 generally and classical music at night. He's enjoying listening to Charles Leclerc on piano before bed. WATCHING The night we got back from Kruger, I excitedly put Mourinho on Netflix. The documentary I've been waiting a year for. Dare I say too much control but that is Jose. A few weeks earlier I also watched Alex Ferguson's documentary, that was released 5 years ago, on Amazon Prime Video. Thoroughly enjoyed watching and listening to his journey, from working player to Sir Alex. His relationship with Mourinho, as seen in Mourinho, shows such mutual respect. At the recommendation of friends I watched the entire season of Furious, a Hulu series available on Disney Plus in South Africa. Here's an article from the Guardian, they say it'sthe most outstanding tv show of the year. Then I've just started Season 2 of The Gentlemen on Netflix This lengthy list is tell me it's the holidays without telling me. I hope you have a productive rest of the week! Happy back to school to all the parents that had summer or August holidays. - END -