After more than five years for me and four years for Kwezi, this week, God willing, we will move from the house we have shared with friends who became family and start a new life living just the two of us and the nanny. I have been thinking about moving for a while now but for one reason or another, I kept postponing. There are many things that go into moving and we always think of money, money, money because it determines where we get a house and what kind it will be. It has been stressful. After always ‘bumping’ into houses online that fit the profile of the kind that I would love to rent, I relaxed thinking that all I needed was to make up my mind. Oh Lord! What a mess! I have been house hunting and all I can tell you is that it is not fun but stressful. It seems to me that whoever created these ‘brokers’ gave them two things in common; poor listening skills and unreliability. Anyway, I am still looking around and I hope that we will get something this week. That said, I have been thinking about how tough this move is potentially going to be on our children. Jasmine and Kwezi have known each other for as long as they have lived. Though Kwezi is always protective of Jasmine as if she is way older than her, in actuality, those two were born only four months apart. I sat with Jasmine’s mother the other day over a drink and we talked about what it may be like for them in the weeks after this. We were consoled by the fact that they go to the same school and sit in the same class but we also talked about how we should organise ourselves so that their bond is not broken. We talked about weekend sleepovers, birthday parties and play dates. It was an emotional moment for us too because as their parents, we have gone through the journey of bringing them into this world together. We have watched them take their first steps, shared the excitement when they started crawling, standing, taking their first meal, form their first words and just recently, took them to school where they began their pursuit of formal education. One would think that there is nothing to worry about, after all, these girls live in the same city. However, we have seen what the hassle of trying to make ends meet in this city can do. When you are off, all you want is to spend time at home and relax, otherwise, it is easy to crash. After all has been said and done, I am not worried. What we need is commitment and when it comes to our children, we are dedicated. At least most of the time.
