Global Village

When Bilaal was born, my parents were in the UK and my in-laws were in New Zealand. They all came to Cape Town for the birth, but had to leave only a few days after he was born. To see your mother holding your first born and crying bitterly because she is going to fly miles away the next day is heartbreaking. Four years later and it was history repeating itself. Although my in-laws are now in Cape Town, we are now living in Jozi, so when Sumayah was born they came for the birth and almost missed it! I was a week overdue and they were all due to return to work. Unfortunately this time only my mom was able to come from UK. Everytime i speak to my dad on the phone I feel really sad that he hasn't had the opportunity to meet her. They call the world the a global village because of the way generations have spread across the globe and communication has become so accessible across great distances. But when significant life events occur, no means of communication be it skype or video calling, nothing beats the human touch. The ability to hold and hug the people you care about...