Christmas Travels

For anyone who knows me well enough, they will know that I hate Christmas, actually LOATHE is the right word. It all starts in early November when the shops start playing those annoying carols and the annoying-ness continues when, while trying to buy Christmas presents, you notice random families at the mall just for fun...yes FUN! Strolling around, not a plastic packet filled with a purchase in sight. Who does that? And why do they not piss off and find something else to do instead of waddling along, 5 abreast, clogging the walkway?

OK so I'm a scrooge/grinch whatever. It all started when I was young. Christmas consisted of me, my Mom and my Dad, as all our relatives live overseas. Lets be honest, a Christmas with 3 is not all its cracked up to be. It's pretty sad and myself and my Mom, pretty much pretend that it isn't happeneing.

This year my Mom really wanted me to come home, which involved a 8 hour trek across the countryside. I got Christmas off work ( volunteering to do new Year's Eve instead...stupid!) and booked my flights well in advance. The 24th arrived and I started my day out as usual seeing patients in casualty. It was the usual Umkhulu who hasn't pissed in 72 hours and needs a catheter, immediately releasing 2l of urine, much to his relief and delight. At 12 I got to leave early and began my long drive to Joburg airport. On arrival, I went to my airline check-in counter, laden with stupid packets of oversized gifts for my parents. When I arrived at the desk, the man told me I was not on the system. What??? He went to check at the ticket sales office, while I nervously gnawed my nails. He came back with a printout showing me that I had booked my flight for the 24th of November. "How can this be happening to me?" I thought. Ok, so I hate christmas but I don't want to stay in a hotel in JHB on my own, or drive back home, where I have only my pet Piglet to console me. I started making my way to all the ticket sales desks, only to be told by each one that the flights are all full. With tears prickling in my eyes, I approached the last one. They had one seat left, for an astronomical price. At this point I didn't care how much it cost, I needed to get home. I pulled out my credit card and quickly rushed to the check-in counter. I was the last to board the plane, and then my gigantic present wouldn't fit in the overhead storage. I looked like a right tit, trying to squeeze a huge At Home silver box into a obviously too-small space. Eventually I sat down, strapped on my seat belt and thanked my lucky stars. After a double gin and tonic, I decided that Christmas wasn't so bad after all!