Chitchat

Retirement calls for a mind shift

I never thought the adjustment would be so effortless. Suddenly retirement took on a special quality, and a kind of peacefulness characterised the philosophy of my expectations. Nothing, not even Covid-19, can change it.

Retirement was never part of my vocabulary. But somehow it became a new life, a fresh start. I feel liberated! I am no longer caught up in the rush for money or status, and flashing lights, taxi hooters and sirens have reduced to a vague memory, the 5 o’clock traffic a mere ghost from my past.

The platteland gives you a crash course in making the most of quality time. I am spellbound by my choice – let’s say I’m under the spell of the bush, because I have now become a “bush baby”, and a platteland camper at that.

The camping thing just happened. The plan was to travel throughout the country with a caravan, but then we threw out the anchor in one spot. An oasis on our path. We have been living in our home on wheels permanently for a year now and have not regretted it for a moment.

Our town is not far when we need to do some shopping. Bela-Bela, “where the water boils” (as christened by the Tswana tribe), is encircled by the Waterberg range, and in the past year I have learnt much about nature and the people here. I got to know the indigenous vegetation and can already identify the weeping wattle, peeling plane, milk plum and large-fruited bushwillow.

A deep silence of admiration wells up in me every time I greet