An open letter to Sarah

Dear Sarah, 
Howzit???? Eish, babba, it has been looooooooooooooong! ;) 


I came across this picture the other day, and I know you'll probably hate me for putting it on here, but IT MADE ME LAUGH. so.hard. Because it's so typical of what a normal evening looked like at 78. Every time we would let a kid borrow the camera, this would be the last shot. "Ok, Lebo, give back the camera now. No, I said ONE more picture, not 5 more pictures." HAHA

I miss morning toast on the way to pick up Unathi. And singing at the top of our lungs. And dancing in the car. And feet on the dashboard. And waving at Uncle Philly as he took Nelly, Nkosi and Thebogo the opposite direction.


I miss "getting lost" in the kombi and trying not to forget anything at Fruits and Veg. Also, trying not to run into anybody because it was so full of people. I miss smelling the amazing braai every time, and being SO HUNGRY, but having to wait to eat until all the food was divided up. Remember Mamma Gladys and Mamma Jeanneth and Mamma "Palala" and how they would "argue" over who got the better food? SO FUNNY. I loved when they teased each other. 

I miss waving at all the security guards on the way up Senator Rd. And all of those speed bumps. And joking about getting hijacked, but secretly wondering if it would happen to us. Remember the man in the OTHER yellow car? And then waving at him [almost] every day? That made me laugh so hard! Remember talking to the people selling things at the robots? And how we pretended that we were actually interested in buying another pair of sunglasses?

Remember all of those Mr Price shoes you bought? And speaking of Mr Price, remember how we could walk in the shopping center and be able to pick out all of the Mr. Price outfits? Guess that probably means that we spent too much time in Mr. Price. ;) 


Sometimes on Sunday afternoons I wish that I had a Sarah and a Bedford Center to walk to. Just so that we could get coffee and watch people. And probably run into somebody we knew, because for some reason, everybody we knew was a Bedford Center. My favorite was seeing who could find the most camouflage pants, and then discussing Charles' new wardrobe.

One thing I think I miss the most, is after 8 pm when all the kids were in bed and we could sit outside and look at the stars. Or sitting in the holes in our mattresses on our beds and discussing life and lessons and eating yogurt/granola and drinking tea/coffee (lets be honest here, YOU drank the instant coffee, I drank the Five Roses tea). And reading til you we fell asleep. 

I  miss when you would be skyping with Ben, or your parents, or whoever else you were talking to in SWISS German, and then apologize for talking in a different language...as if I minded! My favorite was when you skyped with Ben in the bathroom, just so that I could sleep a little longer. (thanks, Ben)     

Remember how we would walk to Rugby, and how we couldn't wait til it stayed light long enough so that we could walk ourselves home instead of worrying about finding somebody to walk us? Remember how we always had the outside guarded so well? We played like bosses. ;) Remember when we played at Leichester Rd school? And those one brothers who stretched for hours and shaved their legs. I don't think they realized how much we laughed at with them. 

Remember volleyball? And Sunday nights? and Lizzzaaaaayyyyyyy? And adventures with the boys? And lunch break at the pool? And the store room that NEVER stayed organized for more than half a day? And "Jenna bread"? And our shower... that was horrible and moody and always an adventure? We were so excited to go on holiday for a weekend just to have a proper shower.  :) Remember how everybody thought we were inseparable? Probably because we were...  

Remember how we both brought white jerseys to Jozi and then both bought the same black jersey? And then all the kids would tell us that we matched. Every.time. And speaking of the kids, remember how they would sit and watch every movement and tell us what they thought about it? Remember Kayise and how she would tell us all about "white people" white we sat by the pool? HAHA. 

There are a bazillion more things I could mention, but we'll just start with these :) Today. I miss you. I miss you so much that I am eating a banana and peanut butter in memory of you ;) Let's get planning this reunion, ok? ok. 

Cheers! 
Auntie Elise