First Home

so, in 1980 we moved to zimbabwe. after independence (april 18, yay!). that's all it took for my parents to be able to go home. i mean, they could have gone back to zimbabwe before then but apparently "at your own risk" back then meant jail or death, not maybe you'll get food poisoning from the water (but that could be a tale like i used to walk 10 miles to school everyday, with no shoes!). anyhoo... they dropped us kids over here (for about six months, while they got themselves jobs and a place to live) where my maternal grandparents lived. first, we drove down the road past the huge pink house (it's still pink) and then right at the corner, this was the first glimpse we saw of the house.

as you sit at the gate waiting for it to open (they got my grandmother an electric gate after she got into an altercation with some guy who was trying to steal her bag. she said she couldn't let him take her bag cos he had no business with her important papers). i tell you folks, i have no idea how the green thumb gene totally skipped me.

so, in my grandma's backyard is this tap. i think it is used for watering the garden but when i was a lot younger there used to be little puddles around this tap that we used to play in sometimes. barefoot. and one day as i mini-splashed in those puddles i found myself suddenly sitting on the grass, holding my foot and screaming in pain.

i had been stung by a bee and it turns out i was quite allergic. my foot was so swollen i missed a few days of school and in the 2nd grade one actually wants to go to school so it was a tragedy.

but you know from tragedy sometimes comes learning. one thing i have never done again - stomped in those mini-puddles - barefoot or no.