Fish and Friends

There is a saying that my Biba (read grandfather) has that, like many of my Biba's sayings, is both humorous and completely true.

Fish and house guests go off after three days.

I think that of my Biba's sayings, this has to be one of my favourites. And I really didn't realise how true it was until I moved to Grahamstown and started having friends come to visit.

I was excited about my first visitor. I had been missing my friends more than anyone should ever miss anything and was feeling particularly lonesome in Grahamstown despite my amazing boyfriend. This is why, when my friend Natasha asked if she could come and stay for 12 days, I was uber excited. I would have a friend around again! Someone to talk to about girly things with. Someone to hang out with. It was going to be like old times, and it was going to be awesome.

And then Natasha arrived, and there was much joy and happiness. For awhile. But things were not like the old days. At all. Instead of lounging around and being filled with happiness, I was now working and had 9 hour stints of customer service ahead of me. When I got home, instead of relaxing as I was used to, there were plays to see and things to do, people to entertain and money to spend. None of this was Natasha's fault, of course, but I soon realised that having a guest stay with me was tiring business. A tiring business that I am still recovering from in some ways.

And then my mother reminded me of my Biba's quote, and I felt myself fill with laughter and relief. I was not alone in the realisation that having guests stay was a lot of work. This made me feel a lot better.

As soon as Natasha left, I missed her. There was a presence that was missing from the house - an indent that she had left in the spare room that could not be removed, kind of like the stain that covers the carpet from where Alexia's medicine was dropped, or the hole in the floor of a house on Gowie street where a house party was once held. And as soon as she left, I knew that I would have more friends come and stay. I already started making the plans, started making promises of future visits in years to come, but always with a time limit of no more than a week in the back of my mind. Because as amazing as it is to have friends stay, having another person relying on you wears you out. Or maybe it's just me.

Either way, there are at least two more visits that I am looking forward to this year - Robyn and Meghan. And ladies, you are warned, one week max ;)