Holiday Time

We're in the midst of packing and sorting stuff ready for our annual holiday on Wednesday. No doubt there'll be the usual last minute panic with something forgotten or the sudden realisation that certain things no longer fit or work, but regardless we're really looking forward to some time out from the busyness of life.

Thankfully the house sitter is well sorted so at least Rosie will be well looked after even if we forget something else important.

I was just in the garage servicing the boys bikes and getting a few bits ready like the bike rack for the car and got to thinking about how different our holidays are here in SA compared to how they were back in Blighty.

The most obvious difference is the fact that we now have two boys in tow and consequently need to take things like bikes etc. to keep them occupied. That however isn't the difference I was thinking about. You see, when I worked in Blighty I used to get five, yes five weeks of annual leave plus bank holidays and when I was working for Cheshire County Council I also got 'Local Authority Days', don't ask!

So what's different here in SA? Well, now we only get ten, yes ten days a year plus public holidays.

It's at times like these that you begin to realise just how much you've given up and sacrificed to serve in full time mission. How we miss having two weeks walking in the Lake District and two weeks lounging by a pool in the sun, and the luxury of still having enough leave to do a few other things.

This time we've also got to come back half-way through to attend a funeral, so that's something else we've never had to do in a holiday before.

So, if we don't email, call or Facebook after Wednesday, don't be offended but we really do want to be left alone, chillin' to the max for our measley (not even) ten days because it's such valuable family time.