Tuesday, November 21, 2017

The Kite Flew Me!

Yesterday I managed to get into and out of the bath on my own – and got myself dressed. That was an unexpected small miracle. One of the small miracles I have wanted for a long time is to learn to fly a kite and yesterday was the day!! The wind had come out and Patrick took me into the park to show me how it is done. The only problem was that it was not small kite, but a 2m one. No worries, I said…full with enthusiasm and confidence. “Babe, this kite is a professional kite. They use these things for kite surfing”, said, my dear husband. “Don’t worry – we can handle this”, I responded. He gave me two strings with straps as handles and told me to hold them tight, so I wound them around my wrists and had them firmly gripped in my hands. I sat down on the park bench, smiling away at the passers-by and not paying too much attention. He walked down the length of the strings to the kite, did some adjusting and then lifted it.

With no warning, the kite took off with me being pulled right off the park bench and touching the ground now and again for about 30 meters, landing with quite a thud on the grass. I did not fly the kite. The kite flew me!! And to add insult to injury, I had landed in a patch of dobbelintjies (small star-shaped thorns).

But I am not giving up – Patrick will find me or build me a smaller kite, one that I can be in control of. I will still learn to fly a kite, but this time I will make sure it is a kite for a child and not a professional surf jumping kite. I might not have flown my kite yet, but I am still winning. I will get up again and learn to fly a kite.