3D REFLECTIONS OF LIFE

Our life's journey is indeed a series of seasons. People enter our lives, walk part of our journey with us and then follow their own course. Like Geraldine, my sister-in-law who passed on yesterday. Thankfully, we can still draw strength from the legacy she has left us and pay our tributes to her.

Sasha with her cousins who came along for the Matric Results announcement   Just the other day, almost nineteen years ago, I discovered we were going to have another baby. I don't want to bore you with all the details, but Sasha was a complete surprise to us. At the time, my dad who was still here with us, was more excited than I was. He reminded an emotional me of the blessings and privilege it was to be a parent. I swear that when I was in labour (forever again), he was sitting on the armchair, keeping watch over his second granddaughter.   Today I was all soppy again. Time flies too fast. Sasha has suddenly grown into this beautiful, young woman. While we were chatting one day, she said:   " I explained to my friends that I have to take small steps so that you can get used to the fact that I am no longer twelve years old. I will go out to clubs, then take a break to allow you guys to recover, then go out again. I want to help you deal with the shock of having an eigh...

  Whether we are talking about the nuclear or the extended family, we can expect to find a delicate, explosive network that is second to none.   Families bitch and moan. They can suck up your bone marrow better than a giant octopus. Competition is their middle name. The house, children, jobs and pets are fair game during any family gathering. How many times don't we just want to throw in the towel and swear we don't need this madness in our lives?   Then there's the creme de la creme personality of families. The Pacific Ocean is too small to hold all the love and concern they have for us. When we succeed, they rally the shooting stars to broadcast our achievements to the world. Their drooling makes our spines curl and the water rise in our knees. Don't we just want to hug them eternally on these occasions?   Such is the life of families. Embrace this ambivalence that provides the fuel for REAL families. Families are alive, high energy organisms that need constant int...

  Organising a 21st birthday party for your daughter is a GALACTIC affair. If men are from Mars and women are from Venus, then " Going on 21" daughters are from Jupiter. They will erupt like multiple volcanoes and fry you alive when you want to Mommy-mess with their party.   Don't lose heart, though. If your daughter still doesn't know what her 21st party must be like, it's okay. Breathe in the word, "calm" and exhale "peace" to centre yourself. Then, become the tight-loose negotiator all Moms are born to be. Here is your three-phase survival kit:   What Moms should accept:   Your ideas were only hip during the Noah's Ark cruise. Keep your signature brand for your own parties. You are only the boss lady of your cash and your credit card.   Black and White Decisions:   Be Gerrie Nel, with specs dramatics and clinch these:   Should the party be at a hired venue? Is the party a themed day or night event? What is the Mom/da...

My Dad and me Our family took photos wherever we went as well. When we used to go on tour with my dad, we would take tons of photos of every conceivable scene. Every time we stopped to eat, we  would snap away. Many photos showed the same food and the coke and you could only distinguish the difference because of the changing roadside benches or the different angle of the red Corona in the picture. At one point, my dad just growled that we must stop this nonsense of taking pictures whenever he stops to "vriet" ( eat). That word signalled his irritation and we would then slink away with camera, giggling behind a tree or crouch behind the car, mock -coughing at the reprimand. Clowning was the name of the game. Of course, all the private pictures we took of us smoking or doing something weird, were hastily removed from the pack of pictures before giving them for parent scrutiny. Snapshots of memories made lovingly I am glad for this picture-taking tradition. Creat...

On  Friday evening, Levona, Hilary and I trekked off to Groote Schuur hospital to visit our aunt, Aunty Henna.  What a lovely evening we had. Aunty Henna is our only surviving aunt.  Lecinda and Janine, her two granddaughters were also visiting. The visit turned out to be a fantastic family bonding session. Despite her frail state, Aunty Henna was a wonderful hostess. She lay there in her bed, all regal and proceeded to tell us about the start of her journey to doctors and hospitals.   Aunty Henna and I having a hugging moment and luvin it! Every detail was described graphically. We heard how Aunty Henna felt that the 'arthritis' was becoming unbearable and then she who never really visited the doctor, started her journey at this phase in her life. We went with her for the X-rays, the MRI's, to the dispensary where she was given 5 tablets that had to be taken for three weeks and then back to the day she fainted. Now, she said, she found herself lying in hospi...