Week Two
Day 10 – February 1st
It is really helpful when people come and pay their respects during the Shiva, but on the other hand too many visitors can be exhausting. As we are originally from Johannesburg, we do not have a very large circle of family or friends in Cape Town. We have 2 cousins, who under normal circumstances would have flown up for mom’s funeral and been around us, but they are both well into their seventies and do not want to risk getting infected with Covid. I reassure them that I am fully vaccinated. With this in mind and appropriate social distancing, we plan a visit
In the meantime S and I start sorting through our mother’s belongings and thanking the 3 caregivers for their dedicated service and who suddenly find themselves without employment. We are sympathetic to their plight and decide on the best way to remunerate them. A difficult meeting follows. The carers cry, I cry and S tries to hold it all together.
