I Love My Family

So...I attended my daughter's wedding this weekend and it was really quite special in many ways.

I drove there on Friday like most of the guests even though the ceremony was on Saturday. This is because it was a 4 hour drive away on a guest farm for wedding venues at the base of the Drakensberg mountains in Kwazulu-Natal (South Africa). It's on the edge of a protected area which is natural bushveld leading up into the mountains.

There is no cellphone reception there and I stayed in a small building which was a combination of tent and wooden walls with a thatched roof. A donkey boiler thing is used to heat water with wood.

So anyway, on Friday evening both families get together in a communal area partly under shelter and also under the stars with no cellphone distractions. It's a mixing of cultures evening because my daughter's side of the family is English speaking and her husband's is Afrikaans speaking. Many of us speak both languages so so it wasn't a big problem.

By the way my daughter is Trish (nickname). Her husband is Abraham (typical biblical name and common in his family). He is the son of a grape farmer who exports his grapes to some of your countries for use in wine. Abraham has broken the general mould of his home culture though. He is a free thinker and has a bit of a hippy/Tarzan look about him with long hair. According to my cousin, "He's hot !"

Friday evening went very well with all of us being pleasant and accommodating. There was a braai (barbeque) under the stars with both families getting to know each other because we live far apart.

I also got to chat with Trish's grandmother (on her mother's side) who I hadn't seen in many yrs. She is becoming forgetful but remembered me. When I knelt down beside her chair to say Hi she grabbed hold of me and insisted on showering me with compliments which left me blushing. For some reason she loves me. I respect her greatly for all she has endured in life and I tell her that.

I met her grandfather who sadly sometimes forgets who his grandchildren are. Trish's mom (who I never married because I was young and irresponsible) told me that granddad was upset and feeling left out. Apparently he wanted to go jump in the dam because he was being shown little respect. He was surprised when I sad next to him and greeted him " Hello Mr Jones, can I sit next to you sir ?"
He said with a smile ,"Yes of course." I asked him how he was doing and after a while he asks,"Do we know each other ?"
I told him I was Trish's father but I understand him not remembering me because last time we met I wasn't going bald and didn't have a long white beard. He gets all surprised and happy and tells grandma that he's speaking to Trish's father ! Can you believe it ? The two of them are quite precious. He still speaks in a British accent and has always been a funny man who liked to make people laugh.

I also met Trish's aunt and her boyfriend (an Italian man) who I've never seen. I had an awesome chat with them about their guest lodge in a rural area in Gauteng province. Apparently he is some kind of shaman and people go there to use stuff like Ayahuasca. I'm like,"Really ? No kidding ? Please tell me about that."
So they did. Interesting chat that was ! I'll possibly go visit their lodge sometime in the future.
Then I find out that Trish's half brother and half sister (different fathers) and her mother have all taken Ayahuasca. So I ask each of them about the visions they had. Their drinking of alcohol on Friday evening loosened their tongues nicely. They each had interesting but very different visions. I don't drink so I did more listening than talking. To be continued....