The journey starts

With my eldest daughter starting her first year at Uni this week and my youngest starting year 10, our conversations are often about direction and the future. Where they want to be, what they want to achieve and how they want to steer themselves in the right direction to get to their goals.

Something I often tell them in our discussions about friends or challenges, is to identify what they do not want, and what they do not like. It may seem somewhat negative, but I strongly believe that identifying what you do not like in any situation or in yourself, can help you to focus on what you do want to do.

Establishing your values, and knowing what your opinions are and having the conviction to stand by them. Entering the work force where focus is so centred on profit and performance, it could be challenging finding value in what you do every day. Work can become a soul draining experience to put food on the table.  

I want them to find their purpose, fail and try again, and fail and try again.. until they find their fire, and I want them to find a company to work for who’s values align with theirs. It pains me when people can’t see past their paycheck. You will always have that in any company, people being there just because they have to be. Frustratingly ignorant, complaining but never taking the time to ask the right questions. They don’t take the time to understand the corporate strategy, they don’t take the time to ask how decisions are made, they don’t ask about profit margins, have no idea of the growth strategy and where they fit in. 

I want my girls to question, to be curious and ask those questions. To go seek the value they can bring to any job they enter into after having knowledge of the company they have chosen. Knowing their purpose and knowing how they fit into the much bigger puzzle of adding value and service. I want them to work hard and be forward thinking. And most of all, I want them to be kind. Life will have many challenges and hard conversations. You don’t have to be an ass to get your way. People…all people, are valuable. 

There are too many people chasing a big paycheck and far too few people finding purpose and fulfillment in what they do. 

My wish for them is to live a life of purpose.

And so .. the first one’s journey begins.

Perfect Proverbs…almost

My 8 year old daughter came home with her workbook excited to show me her newest work… Proverbs…

As I went through the list I thought I just had to share her view on what needed to be filled in to complete the given proverbs 🙂

We must learn to walk… where we can see
His bark is worse than … his looks
Silence is … what we must do
It’s no use crying… when you are dying
Birds of a feather… can lay ten eggs
The apple doesn’t fall… because it’s stuck
The early bird… falls off the tree
Too many cooks…. and I won’t go hungry
A new broom… will fly away
In Rome you do… what they tell you to do
Better late… when you have an excuse
Empty vessels… holds the flowers
Many hands make… trouble
Tell the truth and… you’ll be fine
Knowledge is… a genius

🙂

Let’s hope she’ll learn the proper ones soon…lol

Drama Oh Drama!

Being ever so blond, I forgot to publish this post I did last year… Rather late than never 😉

After an entire year of driving the girls up and down to their drama lessons, we are finally going to see them on stage.

I have had my doubts about the benefits of these drama lessons as almost everything gets covered in an even more dramatic way than ever before. The girls absolutely love all things music and singing and they both love their drama lessons. I honestly think they were born more dramatic than most, so not so sure if sending them to drama has been a good thing 😉

But seeing them all dolled up and dressed does give me tingles all over and makes me forget all the dramatic tears over the smallest spot of blood or something for the briefest moment…. Sigh, they are so super adorable.

I must admit that this climax to a year of preparation will also give me a much needed break from the constant rehearsal at home. I always explain to people that when I tell the girls to stop singing around the house, it’s not because I don’t appreciate their angelic voices, but hearing any angelic voice for breakfast, lunch and supper does leave me craving a bit of a diet at times… Lol

No honestly, I adore them as very dramatic as they are and if taking drama has somehow added to their dramatic side, then so be it…. I can forgive anything at the moment whilst looking at them in their polka dot skirts and christmas hats 🙂

The end is in sight

With only two weeks of school left, it feels like time is sprinting away from me leaving me standing at the starting blocks. I love school holidays and having the girls home. They can drive me completely insane, but I wouldn’t swap it for anything. We have so many plans, and between making biscuits and getting everyone something for Christmas it seems we’ll be very busy.

My youngest daughter is starting grade one next year. Going through the list of things she has to have, I felt a lump slowly forming in my throat. It seems so silly, I have been through this before, but the thought that she has to start facing the stresses of “big school” is almost too much to deal with. I am freaking out in stages and this morning I yet again experienced one of them.

I continuously wonder if she’ll cope with the work, or get on with her teacher. She is extremely fond of her current teacher and considering the important roll a teacher plays in a child’s life, I am hoping for another good relationship with her new one. Being a bit on the wild and adventurous side, I of course also wonder if she’ll behave and stay inside the school till I fetch her instead of going out the gate and waiting outside or wherever. I hope she makes good friends and that boys totally gross her out till she’s at least twenty!

I will have to go get all the necessities soon. I suppose delaying the inevitable remains unavoidable so best get it over and done with. (Big sigh)

Worst of all, now that both girls are going to be in school I suddenly feel much older 😦 … Mental note: Will have to sharpen up my repair and maintain routine 😉

Run!!!!

The annual athletics inter house at the girls school, was held today. After “weeks” of preparation, they were filled with mixed emotions of excitement and dread. My eldest told me in her most “poor me” voice that her attempts at running ended in nothing more than an almost last place.

So as any good parent, I tried to tell her that trying her best is all that counts and that ending last does not matter whatsoever to me and her dad. Obviously this was a failed attempt on my part to repair her already damaged ego…poor thing. If only we can let our kids know that school is only a small social experience in a much bigger global scheme, and that after school all these little trivial things will seem like a whole lot of nonsense.

My youngest has not yet had any experience with school sports, so this being her first, she was super excited and ready to “win a trophy” 🙂 she has been running up and down our passage for days “practicing”. Let’s hope she makes it to the end and remains in high spirits at the end of it all!

If we as parents could save our children from disappointment, I’m sure we would gladly do that. So as all the war cries started, the groups started and as the youngest got positioned behind the starting line, I felt so much hope and excitement for her, she set off and looked adorable and determined…she finished 4th.

The eldest set off in her group with a bang, but was more worried about checking that the girls behind her stayed just there…she finished second last. Afterwards she came to me beaming saying “you were right mommy, I didn’t come last” we had a good chuckle about it, and I was so relieved that her spirits were still high, and that she had so much fun doing it.

To me that fourth and second last place felt like first 🙂