Mbudzi | (Shona word) November | Mboo-dzee

I know that I’m getting in a bit late with this, but you know…life, lol.

November is SUCH an oddball month for me, read on to find out why.

1. There are way too many people born in this month? What exactly was happening 9 months before…ewwww, I just got a visual. What I meant was…actually, never mind. All I’m saying is that my Facebook birthday reminder is on steroids during this time of the year.

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2. Speaking of birthdays, my nephew just celebrated his first one and his party is this weekend. For a shindig that he will not remember and possibly fall asleep half way through, a lot of planning has gone into it. Heck, I helped design the following invitation for it with a whole lot of inspiration from Pinterest.

It made me think back to pictures of my first birthday. Whenever I look at them I chuckle at how chubby I was, how reddish-brown my hair was and how I recognise NOBODY in that picture with the exception on our one neighbour. It’s tough being a 1 year old with no squad, lol.

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3. November is the calm before the wedding storm that hits Zimbabwe in December. To the non-Zimbabweans reading this, let me explain a little further. Nobody is “allowed” to get married during the month of November – there are two reasons for this. One is superstitious and the other one is quite pragmatic.

The superstitious reasoning has to do with the name of the month, “Mbudzi” which means goat and to do with some time in history when a whole bunch of goats mysteriously miscarried during this month which was seen as quite the dodgy omen of sorts.

The logical reasoning (which is the one that actually counts, in my books) has to do with the fact that November is planting season and all able bodied human beings are needed in the fields instead of out frolicking off to attend or plan weddings.

December more than makes up for the wedding hiatus, that happens 30 days prior to the start of the month.

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4. Silly season officially hits and working life gets quite sluggish and slack in the southern parts of this continent. After work drinks become the norm and no one can take anything too serious because the sun is out and life is good.

I’m pretty sure that the silly season keeps starting earlier and earlier each year. Manje, next year I won’t be surprised if it kicks off mid-September, lol.

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5. To the forward planners amongst us, y’all be busy finalising your Christmas shopping and holiday plans. While the rest of us, mere mortals, will leave such things for the first week of December, if at that.

Oh and in case anyone asks, “All I want for Christmas is you”…seriously though, I’ve been so good all year so hopefully Santa gifts me with a Canon DSLR Camera, the latest iPad and/or an all-expense paid trip to Zanzibar *ahem*.

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6. The inclination to burst out into Christmas carols is much stronger at this time of the year. I have a 40 track strong Christmas playlist that features gems from Ms. Carey and Pentatonix, that I need to unleash on the unsuspecting masses.

Instead, I will quell the urge to launch into song and instead just practice my yearly go-to “Santa Baby” routine that has yet to be performed in public.

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7. November is also the last month you can fondly nurture your denial that the year is coming to a close. It won’t last too long before you start seeing those “40 days left” or “If you don’t know what 2016 holds for you, you’re already too late” posts on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.

The humble-braggers want EVERYONE to know how productive and thoroughly planned out their first quarter of 2016 is and shame you for not being so on top of things *insert eye-roll here*.

Just do you boo-boo and keep it moving.

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8. Inherently I’m not really a fan of this month because of the “exam time” vibe it always threw off for the first 22 years of my life. Some habits are hard to break and inwardly grumbling about exam time when you don’t actually have any exams to write is apparently one of mine.

Give me a break, my Empathetic game is super STRONG.

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9. As I write this it’s 11:00am and a sweltering 30 degrees Celsius. Historically, this would be the month that the rains would be expected to come…instead it’s the month that has proved that Al Gore was right and that Climate Change is REAL.

Not a damn rain cloud to be found in the sky *sigh*. Stay hydrated and keep out of the sun, folks!

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10. The ‘stache will be back…albeit, for a good cause. But yes, odd facial hair will be a popular thing amongst the testosterone-heavy members of our species.

Let me know in the comments below what has you excited about the rest of month or what it reminds you of.

In the meantime, I will be sipping on a tall glass of something filled to the brim with ice.

V x

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