Holiday diary - Day ???

I lost track of which day of our holiday it is - a good sign.

Falling asleep by 7 or 8pm has its downside; I am awake by 4 or 5 at the latest. Some highlights from the past few days:

1. We attended a great sunrise service on Easter Sunday, followed by a great picnic outside the Crocworld entrance. They wouldn't allow us to take our food in to the park. I wonder why not. I thought crocs eat anything...
2. The boys are maturing in their bickering. It has evolved to battles of wit, which inevitable leads to good chuckles. I must say, they are quite sharp.
3. Matt is learning to surf and is quite good at it, judging by the way he rides the waves on his bodyboard.
4. Nathan got a wetsuit from his friend (doesn't fit him anymore), which has boosted his already inflated confidence. He now too is trying to stand on his board, leading to spectacular tumbles.
5. Time to go to the beach for what they say is going to be the last day of good weather while we are here.
6. I gave up Facebook for Lent. I am back, cautiously.

Holiday diary. Day 1

Well, we made it to Scottburgh. I am ready for this break.

The trip down was filled with difficulty - rain, foggy mist (I always confuse fog and mist, so here's a generic) and trucks. If it weren't for Stephen Fry's "The Hippopotamus", which is quite an enjoyable read/listen...then I would have rather delayed our departure by a day or two.

Falling asleep on the first night is always a struggle. I keep thinking that I am falling asleep behind the wheel and need to keep reminding myself that the trip is over.

Not that sleeping is any better. My deceased grandfather appeared in my dreams, telling me that he hadn't come to fetch me quite yet as I have a little longer (A LITTLE LONGER????!!!!), and that things are going to get tough at work (expletive - blog censored).

It is a new morning. We are at uShaka. Heeding my grandpa's words, I'll avoid the scary waterslides and watch outfor sharks. One just never knows what "a little longer means"... A well, better live it up while I can. There goes my budget.

I sometimes surprise myself

Okay, call it a Hauerwas moment.

A postgrad psych student came to chat to me about faith and psychology. It wasn't planned, I didn't have time to prepare, it was really something quite impromptu. The conversation was getting quite heavy when she popped the inevitable question: "Why do bad things happen?"

My response: "Sh!t happens"

I should have put it a bit differently, but I think it actually hit the nail on the head.

She almost fell off her chair, but asked me to elaborate. Now how do you elaborate on that?

The point I then subsequently made is that we tend to fall on our default position of causality. Someone or something causes things and it is up to us to find the cause so that we can remedy the situation. Religious people tend to blame God (and then seek to appease God), the Devil (and bind him), sin (feel tremendous amount of guilt and repent) or stupidity (in which case there is very little one can do). There may be truth in some of these explanations, but I'm bit cautious to tag the tail to the donkey.

I still stand by my answer.

I have just thought up a fact...

"Dad, I have just thought up a fact...", said Nathan, out of the blue. He is 7 years old.

"What fact did you 'think up'?", I asked.

Nathan then told me all about why dairy cows are black and white, that it has something to do with the sun which in turns determines the color of the milk. "If their udders burn in the sun, the skin turns pink, which makes the cow deliver strawberry milk."

I love these conversations. And he is quite right (to a degree of course). We think up facts. It is called intuition, the belief in something growing so strong that it becomes a reality.

What if we were to look at the world through the eyes of a child and think up the facts of equality, dignity and justice. If we believe it enough, we can make it happen.