TD and I both miss our baths. For me, a bath is a bit of an occasion - my happy place where I allow my thoughts to wander while I soak out any tension in tired muscles. Sometimes I read, other times I just enjoyed the liquid cocooning. Either way, I come out of a bath rejuvenated and relaxed.
There have been all sorts of stresses in our environment lately - not just the water crisis. I grew up in a country that emphasized that the political is personal. Everything that happens in government of a country affects each citizen. There is no place to hide, no reason not to feel everything personally.
This past Tuesday there was a thunderstorm in Cape Town. Bellowing, angry sounding thunder was followed by eye opening, sky illuminating lightning, and most wonderfully of all, rain. It was the perfect setting for the political storm that was raging simultaneously. We have been in a drought of good governance, and the country's resources and patience were as dry as our dams. On Tuesday the President was blustering and angry, defiant with eye opening flashes of self pity and lack of insight. We were waiting for him to resign, and then mercifully, like the rain breaking the drought, the next day he finally gave over power and the country could breathe again. The future suddenly looks greener. Renewal - of the land, the ground, the gardens and the government all seem possible. There is hope.
Of course, the opposite is also true. Not only is the political personal, but the personal is also political. The way we conduct our lives is governed by the politics of where we live, the historical advantages or disadvantages, the current tolerance levels and availability and affordability of resources.
Diabetes (or HIV, or cancer or any other other challenge) is political too. In 2006, the government issued a list of PMBs (Prescribed Minimum Benefits) which coerces medical aids to cover the costs of care and medication for the 250 listed medical conditions and 25 chronic illnesses. So for families like us, who have a medical aid scheme that only covers hospitalization, it means that TD's diabetic care, her insulin and testing strips have to be paid for by the medical aid, regardless of the fact that we do not have full cover. I am aware how fortunate we are to have that help, that we don't carry that burden that others do of how to afford treatment.
It had been a politically stressful week for our country. The good part of most crises is that it brings people together. Collectively Capetonians are working to postpone Day Zero (when there is no more municipal water available) by using less and reusing every drop. Collectively South Africans urged for change in leadership by having a political voice. Imagine the power that could be unleashed if the world collectively used resources for medical research and kindness rather than consumerism and defence.
We are ever hopeful for a better future. I am hoping for a wet wet winter. I am longing for a deep soaking bath. But if that is not to be, I could settle for world peace.
A photo that Andrew took of the gathering storm clouds on Tuesday.
