My dearest…

As you know I’m very sentimental. I used to have a box filled with notes and letters I received from when I was about seven years old onward. It was sadly thrown away by someone that thought it nothing but rubbish. I had that box for eighteen years. It was filled with childhood laughter and giggles, moments of heartbreak or support and just fun notes and trinkets. I miss those bits of memories taken from me but I at least still hold the memories within me.

There is something special about a handwritten letter. It’s tangible, has a smell and has the writers personality trapped in the handwriting. Back when we wrote notes and letters we took pride in which paper, the choice of an image on it or not, scented or plain, just folded, folded in a shape, placed in an envelope or not. There was excitement in the delivery of it, sending it along classroom seats, slipped into someone’s bag, delivered by mail. There was even more excitement receiving one!

I miss that. Technology is fantastic, practical, quick and effortless but it lacks the feel and appreciation that you had knowing someone put effort into something written for you to read.

What I miss most from my box is the small pack of letters I took from my dad’s cupboard as a child. One or two letters written by my granddad to my grandmother… I loved the way he versed himself. It was so beautiful. The care he took in writing his words with the neatest handwriting. I remember he always signed off saying ” met liefde van jou beminde” which translates to ” with love from your darling or sweetheart. Sigh, I wish I could read through all those old letters again, smell the smells and recall the event and memories connected to them.

There is just something so memorable and priceless about something so tangible.

Fearing to forget

I have a fear… I fear that I might forget the things and people I love. Waking up one morning and not knowing where I put something, or forgetting someone dear to me.

I suppose it is an irrational fear for now, but the reality remains that I might end up forgetful or without my precious memories. I am unbelievably sentimental and feel utterly distraught when I loose something I cherished or loved. It’s never so much about the item as it is about the memory attached to it.

I’ve had this fear for as long as I remember and therefore I have learned to put methods into place to ensure that I “store” in essence some of the precious moments in my life. My blog lends soothing and reassuring aid in this process. It’s a precious file that holds my boring moments, my flopped food ideas, my moments of sadness that I can never share personally with anyone, my moments of bliss and all my indulgences.

It hides my fears and secrets, confessions, hopes and motivations. On days where I wonder why I even bother to blog, I realize that I do it to record the steps in my life that I don’t want to forget or loose.

Just like my art… I can never stick to my decision to give it up… It’s to intertwined with every bit of my being and will be until I forget that I have a blog 😉

Happy Holiday

Kicking back and having a bit of a holiday with family always leaves you wanting more. With only one week school holiday we at least made the most of it. The girls started a painting that they wanted to do and during the first two days of holiday I did some sorting and spring cleaning in the house.

With dust filled lungs and some effort getting everything packed, we set of on Wednesday to join my mom and dad in Langebaan up on the West Coast. The kids could hardly wait and the short trip seemed endless for them. On arrival we unpacked and made ourselves comfy in the tent.

With breathtaking ocean views and the rumble of the breaking waves we sat around the fire pit in the chill spring air. We had gloriously warm days and the girls could enjoy the water park and super tubes to their delight.

I simply loved the crisp morning air and the smell of filter coffee bubbling away in a pot, and the assurance that with it will be a waiting bowl of rusks. It is such a pleasure sitting in the serene, calm, cool morning breeze, watching the waves and boats in the distance.

The beach is beautiful and with rocks on both sides there are some fabulous places to walk to. We went to pick up some shells and gathered a collection of miniature ones to be proud of. My mom and the girls built a sandcastle after my dad’s attempt washed away…the girls loved it.

Hubby and I took nice strolls along the beach whilst the girls splashed away and he even drew some romantic hearts in the sand for me…I am truly blessed to have such a beautiful family! It was such a nice escape and a tremendous treat for the girls. Thanks to awesome grandparents that always have patience and endless love and support to give. We feel rested and blessed. 🙂

Growing up in the 80’s

Do you remember the movie The Goonies? We recently got a copy of it for the girls and it brought back dusty memories of growing up in the eighties. You have got to love the eighties!! What a wonderful blissful era.

It was so cool to have your hair permed and we all had the poofiest scrunchies to contain our fake curls in stylish ponytails on the side of our heads….or in a gorgeous banana clip, oh gotta love that look! We had fluorescent socks that you rolled down and it was super cool to wear several pairs all rolled down to make a rainbow of shocking colors.

We stole stuff from the chem lab and made smoke bombs in the road… Those days the chem lab still had things to experiment with and no one ever thought of stealing copper pipes and electrical cabling.

Our friends were the best and we believed we’ll be friends for life. It was super cool to dress exactly like your friend. We knew what “wax on, wax off” meant and got the urge to say “NOT” after every sentence.

It was an era of classic movies like Gremlins and He-Man and series like Doogie Howser. Alf still showed on Saturdays and was translated in Afrikaans. We watched Heidi and Nils Holgerson after church on a Sunday and all children went for Sunday afternoon naps.

We knew all the Bon Jovi songs and could walk home after a dance at school and it was perfectly safe. You could buy a whole lot of wilson toffees and nickerballs and other sweets and pay only 50 cents.

We still held annual Christmas celebrations at my dad’s work and believed that father christmas actually brought extra presents. We played Pack Man on Atari and thought color TV’s were awesome!

The boys wore white faded jeans and tucked in their shirts and we thought it looked fabulous! We had roller skates with four wheels and protective skating gear did not exist. We thought saying “shut up” was swearing and we still had respect for our parents.

The melody of the ice-cream van could be heard almost every day which was our cue to scramble looking for coins to buy some ice cream. We listened to stories on the radio and going to the movies was a huge thing.

Those were care free days when children were just that. Hardly any of your friends’ parent were divorced. We had physical exercise twice a week at school and had art and music as well. It was glorious times to be a kid!

I wonder how our kids will remember their childhood in time to come. I just know that I will forever have fond childhood memories 🙂