BLESSED.....

I am feeling so incredibly.....

I have been planning a trip to Kenya for April which is something I have taken to doing every year as it is just really a sun, sea, surf, spa and cocktail break.


The problem was that the costs involved were pretty steep compared to the last couple of years.  This is mainly due to the strong Dollar versus the weak Rand. 


The biggest issue (and this always is) is the single traveler supplementary costs. It makes me freaking nuts that I am discriminated against for being single.  Like I have not been praying for the last gazillion years for a family of my own!!!!  The single supplementary costs add about R3 000 - R5 000 to the total cost of the trip.  This for my American friends is about $385 - $641.  Think for a moment what you can do with that money......spend it obviously but on things like snorkeling and prawns oh and cocktails instead of something which......well......in all honesty makes me feel like I am a failure!!!


In spite of the costs, I decided about a month ago to bite the bullet and treat myself to a great holiday.


Well then my dad needed medication which cost a lot of money, the house needed to be painted and we received a nice little letter from our local council telling us that several of the trees in the garden needed to be removed because they illegal.  Great!!!  Oh and then the painters ripped  tore the curtains in my bedroom and I had to replace them as my bedroom is street facing!!!!


So slowly but surely I watched my luxury holiday disappear as well as my dream of buying a new camera.  But well, there comes a time when a daughter has to step up so I down scaled my holiday gave up on a new camera.  I paid for my dad's meds, I contributed towards the painting of the house, bought new curtains and paid the tree fellers to remove the trees.  


Then last Sunday night my mom came crying out of the bedroom.....she had just spoken to her sisters who live about a 12 hour car drive from us.  They were all together having a BBQ  braai on the beach and she felt left out and miserable.  My mom and her sisters are very close and they have not seen each other in 18 months.  My little heart turned to mush and on Monday I stole  took some time to look for the cheapest flight I could find.


So I would be drinking water instead of cocktails and wine, so I would be skipping lunch and I would downgrade the standard of my accommodation.....I was a little sad, heck I am human and kinda was feeling like I was giving away my hard earned cash on things which well which were kinda separate from me while my holiday was very very personal.


My mom's face when I handed her the ticket made up for it all!!!  It took her about five minutes..... SERIOUSLY for her to click what it was but when she realised she was going to spend a week with her sisters man oh man no amount of money can replace the warm feeling in my heart!!!


The house is painted, the trees removed and my new curtains hung.  Dad is on his meds and all is right with the world.


Then yesterday happened.  The travel agent called and said that I am in luck...I have been upgraded to a superior room and since I am going back for the fourth time they are throwing in a free half day full of treatments at the spa.  I was JUMPING for joy!!!


But wait there's more............


She phone back later again and told me that she had just been informed by the hotel that the week I have chosen to go (16 April) has been selected for a special and the special is.........common guess...................

NO SINGLE TRAVELER SUPPLEMENTARY COSTS!!!!!!!!

When I called and told my mom she said "You see sunshine child, you have blessed our home by helping out with the costs of painting the house and getting rid of the trees, you have blessed your dad by helping him stay on his meds and ensuring he has a better quality of life and you have blessed me by making it possible for me to see my sisters. You have been generous with your money which you have worked very hard for and God has rewarded your generosity." 


I don't know if I really had a generous heart or just saw a need which needed filling but I do know that as I sit here writing this I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am to blessed to stress!!


Oh and I am going on a superior holiday package to KENYA!!!!!!

AND

I can buy a new camera which will hopefully help me take better photos.
Have a great weekend and for those watching the Superbowl enjoy!!!!