Tag Archives: birthday

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Another trip around the sun

I was woken up this morning by twins throwing themselves at me like puppies, all wriggly and demanding hugs and kisses. I treasure these mornings, as they are growing up way too fast and all too soon I won’t be allowed to hug or kiss either of them. And usually it is me having to wake them up – my daughter takes a single call, my son sometimes have to be dragged out of bed. But today is special and they are excited: it’s my birthday and they’ve been talking about it all week.

Our trusty local weather service claimed a whopping 4 degrees Celsius. A trip to the shower confirmed that today would be a “no water” day – for some reason the back-up tank is empty, and the town only gets water every second day. All reminders of why I chose to take this year to come and make a sustainable difference in a town where I grew up, but where the infrastructure is dicey at best. An article on Businesslive confirms that there is simply no money. The intro is bleak: “The Eastern Cape is in a technical recession due to sharp declines in the construction, manufacturing, and mining industries, which have put employment on a knife’s edge.”

It is easy to complain about how bad things are. And yes, things are bad. When we have no internet signal for no apparent reason for days, or when there is yet again no water. When the power just goes because it was too windy, and the technicians can only work on the problem the next day. When there are hungry dogs walking in the streets, and even hungrier children, with no hope of a difference soon because there simply is no employment for their parents. Yet we have to do something. And our “something” was to apply to Lottoland and to get the green light for funding to renovate and repair the local municipal swimming pool.

Some days it feels as if we bit off more than we can chew, and then I remind myself we have no choice but to get chewing. This project has to and will be completed successfully. It is merely a gateway project to so much more. We want to also raise funds for a local skills development centre to create entrepreneurs, which will lead to people able to earn money, get back their dignity and provide for their families. Isn’t that all we all want? Just to be able to be ok?

I sit at my desk at my office, a hot coffee at my elbow, with working electricity and internet access (for now), and I count my blessings. We don’t realise how privileged we are until we see how little people can survive on.

My facebook post today:

Instead of gifts to me for my 49th birthday please consider making a small donation to one of our biggest projects to date: Burgersdorp Swimming Pool & Sport Club by clicking here:

https://www.backabuddy.co.za/campaign/burgersdorp-municipal-swimming-pool

Today I just want to say how grateful I am to everyone in my life for your support and your love. I wouldn’t be where I am today without you.

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My tenth birthday and priorities

I remember turning 10, and never having owned a shop-bought doll. My brother and I used to come up with ingenious ways to turn even the most mundane objects into toys. Round pebbles would be used as marbles, sticks, leaves and grass turned into dolls. We turned an old tomato crate (those wooden ones from back then) into a push-car, and we had two old tyres that we used to race each other. Yet, I had a dream (doesn’t every 10-year old little girl?) I wanted, COVETED, a Barbie doll. All my friends at school had Barbie dolls. Gorgeous dolls with beautiful slinky blonde hair and smooth skin, and the clothes! Fit for a princess!

 

1980's Peaches & Cream Barboe Doll

1980’s Peaches & Cream Barbie Doll

 

But I digress. My grandfather was a very solemn man, yet he had a very whimsical sense of humour. Often when he cracked a joke, it took a while to dawn on anybody that he was being funny. On the other side, though, sometimes he was being serious, and we thought he was joking. Also, he spoke with a thick Irish accent, so deciphering what he said was a bit like code-breaking.

I was always his favourite. He worked for the Railways when I was a little girl. Some of the favourite times in my life was spent just travelling with him on the train – somehow there was always free return tickets for short trips. He used to pack us little picnic meals, with boiled eggs, and meat balls, delicious wafer-thin sandwiches with peanut butter, and ripe bananas for dessert. When we opened the wax paper, the smell of ripe banana would waft up and delight my senses. Even today, the smell of bananas immediately brings back those train journeys with my grandfather. Sadly, he got injured on duty when a blast of steam hit him in the leg, causing a raw, open wound from which he never recovered. He had to leave the Railways, and eventually found employment with our local abattoir.

On my tenth birthday, my grandfather waited outside the school gates for me when it was time to walk home. I remember that it was a Friday, and I was looking forward to the weekend. He was beaming, and had a parcel in his hands. I just knew it was my birthday present, and practically broke the land speed record getting to him. I just knew what it was – it had to be! My grandfather knew all my hopes and dreams, and although we were really poor, always did his best by me.

My grandfather said something to me about me now being grown up enough for this gift, and that I had to treasure it all my life. I didn’t listen. Finally – my Barbie Doll! I hugged him and thanked him for the doll, almost crying with relief. Tired of always being the odd one out at breaktimes, and sitting on my own watching the other girls play, I could now also join in with my very own doll. He stopped me mid-sentence, and said: “Barbie? No, honey, I got you a BIBLE.”

My heart fell into my shoes, and I wanted to cry with anger and disappointed. Who wanted a stupid Bible? As I grew up and looked back, I understood with my desire overriding all else how I easily heard Barbie when he said Bible, but as a child this was one of my worst disappointments. But I instinctively knew not to let on to him how disappointed I was. He loved me with all of his heart, and Bibles cost money. Who knows how long he had saved to afford one for me – my very own? As an adult, now, that Bible is one of my most treasured possessions. It is a King James version, and my grandfather’s first name was James.

 

Holy Bible - The New King James Version

Holy Bible – The New King James Version

 

I learned a couple of valuable lessons that day. Not least of all that I could learn to be less selfish. It wasn’t all about me, and my wanting a doll. It was about gratitude for one of the very first birthday presents I received in my life, ever. My grandfather played a pivotal role in my childhood years. I had a difficult mother (his daughter) and he often protected me from her. I think I would have turned out very differently as an adult if I didn’t have him anchoring me, and teaching me, especially during my formative years. And it takes a special kind of love to buy a child a Bible on her tenth birthday.

 

 

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AGE IS JUST A NUMBER…. IS IT?

Tomorrow is my birthday, and wow – 40 is creeping closer. Yet, as it looms hovering in my near future, it no longer seems as threatening and scary as when I was in my early 30’s. I am turning 38 this year, and I am finally comfortable in my own skin. Not too young not to be taken seriously in my chosen field of work, and not too old to no longer have the energy to pursue my interests.

I am a huge fan of Dara Torres, who wrote: Age Is Just a Number: Achieve Your Dreams at Any Stage in Your Life. Dara captured the hearts and minds of people of all ages all over the world when she launched her Olympic comeback as a new mother at the age of forty-one—years after she had retired from competitive swimming and eight years since her last Olympics. When she took three silver medals in Beijing—including a heartbreaking .01-second finish behind the gold medalist in the women’s 50-meter freestyle—everyone loved her all the more for her astonishing achievement and her good-natured acceptance of the results. (source: amazon.com)

Another woman that I greatly admire is the world’s oldest supermodel. 82-year-old Carmen Dell’Orefice is beautiful, stylish, and yes, a supermodel – at her age. She’s been a model for 65 years. Take a few minutes and watch this inspiring clip featuring Carmen on youtube:  http://bit.ly/187SSID. In her own words: “… I am less able to pretend to be somebody else, because I’ve let my look be what it is.”

As tomorrow comes closer, I realise that I welcome becoming older. I cannot say that I have completely figured out who I am and where I am going, but I am fairly close. I realise that I don’t really like people and that I really, really prefer sharing what free time I have with my dogs. I realise that I have no tolerance for people who “steal” my joy, my pleasure in living, and my dreams. I love me – just the way I am.

And finally – I want to share some words that was emailed to me today:

George Carlin’s Views on Aging

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we’re kids? If you’re less than 10 years   old, you’re so excited about aging that you think in fractions. “How old are you?” “I’m four and a half!”  You’re never thirty-six and a half. You’re four and a half, going on five! That’s the key.
You get into your teens, now they can’t hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead. “How old are you?” “I’m gonna be 16!” You could be 13, but hey, you’re gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life – you become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony. YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!
But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There’s no fun now, you’re Just a sour-dumpling. What’s wrong? What’s changed?
You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you’re PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it’s all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone. But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn’t think you would!
So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60. You’ve built up so much speed that you HIT 70!
After that it’s a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!  You get into your 80s and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn’t end there.
Into the 90s, you start going backwards; “I Was JUST 92.”
Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. “I’m 100 and a half!”
May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes  age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay them
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.” And the devil’s name is Alzheimer’s.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it’s family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies,
whatever. Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can
improve, get help.
9 Don’t take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity. AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. (source unknown)