Today is Day 9 of my 11-day school holiday. This has been the strangest holiday in a long time. But let me go back a bit.
Without fail, the last few weeks of every term are the most stressful for me. For two to three weeks, my main activity is marking. I wish I could tell you all the things that make it so stressful, but I can't. It's a whole lot more than the hours and hours spent sitting and marking over 240 kids' handwritten scripts. It's everything that precedes it, that surrounds it, and it's completely out of my control. Let's just say it's partly systemic.
So, I went through a stressful few weeks, and I wondered what my body would do, once the stress was over. Because it was inevitable. There's no way you can experience that much stress, for weeks, and emerge intact. The night before the end of term, I realised I'd caught a tummy bug. A couple of colleagues had had it, as well as some kids, and now, with my weakened immune system, it was my turn. Terrible timing, because I needed to take a two-and-a-half-hour drive soon after that.
Somehow I got through the last day of school, bought some over-the-counter meds for the next few days, packed my things for the weekend, and early the Saturday morning, I headed for the N1 freeway, where I'd arranged to meet up with a friend, and take the long road to McGregor.
The McGregor experience deserves a post of its own, but I'll squeeze in the main things here, for now. I drove behind my friend, all the way to McGregor. It was a beautiful drive, the weather was spectacular, and I was thankful that I had a reliable car, with aircon. I actually enjoy solitude, so I found the drive peaceful and inspiring. The further I drove from Cape Town, the more I felt myself relaxing. I started to feel the old Trudy returning.
When we got to McGregor, a quaint little inland town to which my friend had relocated two years ago, we made a quick stop at a magical shop that sold scarves and other wonderful things. Then we went to meet the person who had hired me for the restaurant gig, and I felt completely welcome and at peace. I could feel myself exhaling, and started to see why my friend liked the town so much.
I was shown my accommodation (The Bean Tree - soooo beautiful!!), where I dropped off my overnight bags. Then I was taken to the restaurant where I was going to sing that night. It's in the town's main street (Voortrekker?), and it's called Tebaldi's. Named after the great soprano Renata Tebaldi, this opera-themed restaurant is part of the Temenos boutique resort, and is an absolute delight to the senses.
I set up my equipment, with two of the staff helping me sort out some technical issues (I ended up using the venue's speakers!), did a soundcheck, then went back to my lovely accommodation to get ready.
When I got to the restaurant, the staff were setting up, and the place was filled with the sounds of Renata Tebaldi, singing arias my mother had sung throughout her opera career. I had such a huge lump in my throat! My own set-up was between posters of La Traviata and La Boheme, both operas in which my mom had sung. I felt my mother's presence strongly throughout the evening. It was like when she'd go with me to my weekly restaurant gig (between 2015 and 2020), and she'd smile and say, "Nice, Trudes", after every song. So precious!
The evening went well, with a delicious dinner, in a beautiful setting, and a warm atmosphere created by the hosts, the staff and the diners. I did mainly covers, and added a few of my originals. Interestingly, the organisers liked the originals more. (I could write many blog posts about why I think people respond better to my originals.) I think both the organisers and I would do things a little differently, in future.
I still wish I could've done the gig in a duo, but the elements weren't favourable, this time.
ADD MORE HERE
The next day, my tummy problems were back. I was very worried about the long drive home, but It ended up being another lovely drive, and I got home safely.
Once home, however, it was a different story. I unpacked my car - my overnight bags and my music equipment - then gave in to my exhaustion, and lay down without unpacking my bags. I texted a few people, then fell asleep, eventually waking up at 3am. For the next few days, I was really sick. The virus knocked me out, and I managed to find enough energy only to take care of myself. I kept taking the pharmacy meds I'd bought before my trip, and modified my diet. Eventually on Thursday, almost a week into 11-day holiday, I went to the doctor. Almost R2,000 later, I'd had a consultation and bought prescription meds.
I'LL WRITE ABOUT THE MIXED BLESSING OF BEING SICK DURING A SCHOOL HOLIDAY - I COULD SLEEP WHENEVER I WANTED TO, BUT COULDN'T TACKLE MOST OF THE WORK ON MY HOLIDAY TO-DO LISTS FOR SCHOOL AND HOME.
AND I MISSED TASTY FOOD!!!! AND ENERGY TO DO EVERYDAY THINGS. AND WALKING IN NATURE!!
WHAT'S THE LESSON?
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