Friday
Dear Elsie
Today was the day I was filled with joie de vie – joy of life – but it looks so much more emphatic in French! It’s the enormous sense of happiness and well-being, contentment and gratitude which comes along on a few days of the year. Today it swept into my soul with the sunniness of the day; the windless beauty of Cape Town capped by blue skies and a turquoise ocean. It was difficult not to be happy. If only I could bottle the feeling & take a drop under my tongue when the day is not quite so positive!
We did not swim this morning. The day was perfect. The sea was still, but I had work to do, so I threw open the doors and sat at my desk and worked for 7 hours. But then the beauty of the day got the best of me. I got into my swimming costume and at 3pm, I went to the beach. The water was azure and perfectly clear. I swam my 2km in 36 minutes and while doing so, I began to realise it wasn’t just humans who found the water so alluring. I began to feel itchy. It was worth every bite. But I have to say, I’ve not seen so many bites on me before. The naughty critters got into my swimming costume and had a field day. They are tiny bites – almost like from sand fleas. Mike went off for reinforcements…
I’m now nicely creamed up.
The sea was like a swimming pool and one day Elsie, you will be here with me on such a day and we will get to swim together. You would have loved it (bar the bites). If you were with me, I wouldn’t have swum as far out as I did. We would stay in the shallows where there are no tiny things that bite. Such a superb day.
The other thing that happened today is I found out more about the guest who is staying in one of the apartments. He is such a nice man – from the UK – and today when I went to take him bin bags, we got talking. He asked me to guess his profession. Accountant? No. A writer? He does write but that’s not his profession. He goes to Stellenbosch quite often, he said. Something to do with wine? No. He’s a man of the cloth! A Catholic Priest! I don’t know why this added to my happiness! We’ve never had a Catholic Priest before and I don’t think it will be the last time either. He wants to book the apartment for next January.
A perfect summer’s day.
Psalm 13:6
I will sing the Lord’s praise, for He has been good to me.
The best is yet to come – we are only passing through.
Keep the smile going.
God bless you.
In His Grip,
Gran xx 🙂