by On Thursday night I found, completely by chance, a letter that my brother sent me in March 2007 from Camp Bastion in Afghanistan. He was replying to my letter that had taken nearly two months to get there. He told me that three of his friends had died. He talked about our grandmother who died four years ago. It brought a tear to my eye; I’d be seeing my brother in a matter of hours.
The next morning I flew to Timaru. Air travel as it should be. That flight always makes me feel good. Dad picked me up from the airport, and soon I met my brother and his girlfriend, all six foot one of her. Wow, what a contrast between her and his last one who was pernicious. She’s a breath of fresh air; I could relax around her (and that’s saying something – most people intimidate me). The three of us headed to the Village Inn pub in Geraldine and had a good chat over a few beers. As usual, my brother and I got on well – it helps I think that we’re not very similar. (Y’know, Afghanistan, not really my scene. The mind boggles when I think of the places he’s been to.) I’m so happy that he’s happy.
The temperatures on Friday and Saturday soared into the thirties. We went to the beach at Caroline Bay, I saw my aunt and uncle who came over for a barbecue, I watched Dad fly his model glider, we picked some blackberries (I’ve just baked an ice cream container full of them with some apples in a crumble) and that was just about it. I got two very good nights’ sleep – they were extremely welcome. The third night was much more fitful, probably because I had to fly back the next day. I really didn’t want to go back. On the plane I saw Temuka go by and in no time we were into the clouds. I didn’t pay much attention to what was going on outside the window after that. When I arrived in Wellington, for almost certainly the last time on the 19-seater Beech plane before they bring in the bigger ATR on that route, I dawdled through the airport. I wouldn’t have minded staying there.
I really felt that extra day in February; it was a long month. And now the next few months stretch in front of me like a desert.
For most of today at work I couldn’t even log on and the help desk didn’t live up to the first half of their name. I managed to get most of an assignment done for my English teaching, so it wasn’t a completely wasted day.
I’ve got interclub tennis on Saturday. I’m not especially bullish about my chances, even if the team might win.
