Of all the new experiences Sam had in Africa, one is certain to seem a bit mundane to most of you.

He had his first session on a swing. Of course, this was an African swing, so carved from some beautiful piece of hardwood and hung from a huge tree I didn't recognize. And while he pendulummed back and forth under the darkening African sky a hyrax shrieked for a mate.

That's right. My poor, deprived little boy has lived for more than three and a half years and had not, to my recollection or his, been on a swing before an evening in Kenya made that simple pleasure possible.

Why?

We've been living in a construction site for all of the ten years we've been in Seychelles, constantly striving to complete one phase or another of homebuilding, so although we live on more than an acre of land in the middle of the bush we have no garden, therefore no garden-y sort of things like swings or pools or slides. There's also the fact that our land is pitched quite steeply, and until we flatten out a section it's not exactly kid friendly. Well, not little kid friendly. Big kids find it quite an adventure to slog up and down and around, climbing trees and looking for lizards.

Since Sam's not yet started school, he's not spent time on playgrounds, so no swing opportunities have presented themselves. His play areas, when we're not in Africa or Asia, have been the beach, his nature hikes and the garage where Dad takes his old pickup for service. (There are lots of ducks at the garage, and he likes that.)

(Should I explain the ducks? I don't think so ... )

What other common pleasures of the 'real world' are my kids missing living here on this island?

But, heck! He did finally get to swing. It just took a while.