Last week I took Nellie and one of her best friends to the Baxter theatre to see 3 Little Pigs. The show was lovely (although it started nearly 20 mins late!) and even I enjoyed it (which is saying something). However, the best moment of the outing for me was on the drive home. I'd put on a CD of ABBA covers, when 'Dancing Queen' came on. There we were, with the windows down, and all 3 of us girls were singing along at the top of our lungs.
Can you picture it?
As I was singing, I was suddenly struck by the fact that I'd done the EXACT same thing when I was a little girl, with my folks, while driving along in our old Chevy. Back then, of course, ABBA were relatively new on the scene, whereas now, they're classics. But I was struck by the moment, by the full turning of the wheel, from child to adult, but without the music changing.
I nearly wept at the sentimentality of it all, and the precious nature of children, at the thought that my childhood wasn't all pain and misery, and the thought that maybe one day Nellie will do the same thing with HER kids - as long as I continue to create moments for her that will fill her memory banks with good memories, with memories that will jump out at her at unsuspecting moments, and fill her with the same sense of joy as I experienced in that moment.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Monday, July 04, 2011
A new era
Today marked the dawning of a new era in our lives: the era in which both our kids are at school. It has finally happened - my baby boy is no longer a baby. He started at playschool/ creche/ nursery school today. He'll only be going for 3 mornings a week, but it still feels like a significant step for us.
He's at the same place that Nellie went. It's a bit of a drive from where we live, but we love the place and staff and other kids there, so we're prepared to make the drive, for the moment at least. (By comparison, there's another place around the corner from us in the next street... we've put his name down on the waiting list for next year, but if he gets in, I don't know how we'll choose between them.)
Since we're on holiday, Nellie is going with him for those 3 mornings. We're hoping that having her around with him will help him to settle in. Also, because they're not as structured during the holidays, I'm hopeful that he will settle more easily. We've got 2 weeks until we're back at school (and then things will become INCREDIBLY manic - but I'm not going to think about that now). Nellie took 6 months to settle and stop crying when I left. Will 2 weeks be enough for the boy, or is he also going to cry for 6 months?
I really hope not. Please God, not! I hope he learns to love it really soon.
He's at the same place that Nellie went. It's a bit of a drive from where we live, but we love the place and staff and other kids there, so we're prepared to make the drive, for the moment at least. (By comparison, there's another place around the corner from us in the next street... we've put his name down on the waiting list for next year, but if he gets in, I don't know how we'll choose between them.)
Since we're on holiday, Nellie is going with him for those 3 mornings. We're hoping that having her around with him will help him to settle in. Also, because they're not as structured during the holidays, I'm hopeful that he will settle more easily. We've got 2 weeks until we're back at school (and then things will become INCREDIBLY manic - but I'm not going to think about that now). Nellie took 6 months to settle and stop crying when I left. Will 2 weeks be enough for the boy, or is he also going to cry for 6 months?
I really hope not. Please God, not! I hope he learns to love it really soon.
Sunday, July 03, 2011
Confessions of an over-worked blogger
People who know me often ask how I manage my life and my time. How do I fit everything in? How do I manage to do all the things that I do? I usually giggle nervously, because I don't really have an answer - or at least, the answer I have is not the one they want to hear.
The answer is that I don't. I've just (please forgive me, everyone) deleted about 60 blog post notifications from Google Reader. Most of them are work related ones (stuff on education, IT, etc) or else photo blogs. Right now, I just don't have the energy to read them, and if I let them pile up, I know I won't be inspired to read them when I get back to work. There's nothing worse than opening Reader and seeing that I have over 200 posts to read.
I recently read 'Getting Things Done' by David Allen, and then some blog posts by 43folders. They both advocate having an inbox that has zero emails sitting in it. I've started adhering to that policy (there's a whole methodology that goes with it; read the book/ blog posts if you're interested, or ask me for details), and it really works. I've not only been more productive, but I no longer dread opening my inbox, because there are all these hundreds of emails just SITTING there.
About 6 weeks ago I decided to take the same approach to my Reader. If I hadn't made time to read it during the week, I was honest with myself that I probably wouldn't read it, and so would just delete the whole stack, unread. I figured that if there was something really incredible, or a real WOW factor to it, I'd hear about it via Twitter, or some other source, soon enough, or I could probably research it myself if it was something I was particularly interested in. Thus, I reckoned, deleting something I hadn't read wasn't actually going to impoverish my life dramatically. It would simply remove the stress I had been feeling about not being able to keep up with the pace of information streaming itself to me.
The result is that I now feel able to spend time really reading the posts that are by people I love, friends, or anything else that really piques my interest. By using Reader, if I run out of things to read, I know that I can also go back and read the stuff I didn't get a chance to read previously, even if I've "marked it as read", which is nice - as it's never really lost to me.
And that, my friends, is one of the ways in which I manage. I set aside a predefined amount of time per week to read work-related blogs, and anything I don't read in that time is deleted. Poof! No more stress (for that area of my life anyway :))
The answer is that I don't. I've just (please forgive me, everyone) deleted about 60 blog post notifications from Google Reader. Most of them are work related ones (stuff on education, IT, etc) or else photo blogs. Right now, I just don't have the energy to read them, and if I let them pile up, I know I won't be inspired to read them when I get back to work. There's nothing worse than opening Reader and seeing that I have over 200 posts to read.
I recently read 'Getting Things Done' by David Allen, and then some blog posts by 43folders. They both advocate having an inbox that has zero emails sitting in it. I've started adhering to that policy (there's a whole methodology that goes with it; read the book/ blog posts if you're interested, or ask me for details), and it really works. I've not only been more productive, but I no longer dread opening my inbox, because there are all these hundreds of emails just SITTING there.
About 6 weeks ago I decided to take the same approach to my Reader. If I hadn't made time to read it during the week, I was honest with myself that I probably wouldn't read it, and so would just delete the whole stack, unread. I figured that if there was something really incredible, or a real WOW factor to it, I'd hear about it via Twitter, or some other source, soon enough, or I could probably research it myself if it was something I was particularly interested in. Thus, I reckoned, deleting something I hadn't read wasn't actually going to impoverish my life dramatically. It would simply remove the stress I had been feeling about not being able to keep up with the pace of information streaming itself to me.
The result is that I now feel able to spend time really reading the posts that are by people I love, friends, or anything else that really piques my interest. By using Reader, if I run out of things to read, I know that I can also go back and read the stuff I didn't get a chance to read previously, even if I've "marked it as read", which is nice - as it's never really lost to me.
And that, my friends, is one of the ways in which I manage. I set aside a predefined amount of time per week to read work-related blogs, and anything I don't read in that time is deleted. Poof! No more stress (for that area of my life anyway :))
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
So long, farewell, aufwiedersehen, adieu....
I can't believe how incredible Gumtree is. It really does work to list your stuff there. How do I know this? Because something I thought would take MONTHS to sell, sold in less than 24 hrs!
The dealer from whom we bought my new car was unwilling to take my old car as a trade-in because it's an import. We decided to try to sell it privately, on Gumtree, and if that failed, to then go to the online sites, and if that failed, to then sell it for scrap.
So last night, I listed the car. This morning, I had a spate of calls from interested parties. They were vying with each other to be the first to bring me cold hard cash. The end result? My old car, imported from the UK, was sold within 24hrs of listing on Gumtree!
Part of me was very sad to see someone else drive away in my Michelle. She played a big part in our lives for so many years - she was from the pre-children era, and part of the process of us settling into life in the UK. And now she's gone. I hope her new owner doesn't drive around the same places I do - I'm not sure that I can bear seeing someone else in her all the time...
But the rest of me was ecstatic! I simply can't believe that we were able to sell her in such a short period of time, or that we managed to get our asking price for her. I'm thrilled that I consequently have the space to park my new baby in our driveway, without having to park a car outside on the street all night.
But it does feel weird. Looking out the kitchen window at the new car parked outside, I keep catching myself wondering who's visiting us and where my car is, and then in the same instant, remembering... and feeling both elated and mournful. Very weird emotional day all round.
The dealer from whom we bought my new car was unwilling to take my old car as a trade-in because it's an import. We decided to try to sell it privately, on Gumtree, and if that failed, to then go to the online sites, and if that failed, to then sell it for scrap.
So last night, I listed the car. This morning, I had a spate of calls from interested parties. They were vying with each other to be the first to bring me cold hard cash. The end result? My old car, imported from the UK, was sold within 24hrs of listing on Gumtree!
Part of me was very sad to see someone else drive away in my Michelle. She played a big part in our lives for so many years - she was from the pre-children era, and part of the process of us settling into life in the UK. And now she's gone. I hope her new owner doesn't drive around the same places I do - I'm not sure that I can bear seeing someone else in her all the time...
But the rest of me was ecstatic! I simply can't believe that we were able to sell her in such a short period of time, or that we managed to get our asking price for her. I'm thrilled that I consequently have the space to park my new baby in our driveway, without having to park a car outside on the street all night.
But it does feel weird. Looking out the kitchen window at the new car parked outside, I keep catching myself wondering who's visiting us and where my car is, and then in the same instant, remembering... and feeling both elated and mournful. Very weird emotional day all round.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
A dream is realised
Over the past year have become intimately acquainted with all of the big online car sites. I could just about use them blindfolded. I could spot a new listing a mile away, and tell you the pricing history of any long term listings. Why? Because I was searching for a new car. Not just any car, mind you - I needed a 7 seater that could take my kids, my dogs, all the bikes, all our holiday luggage as well as all our camping gear without bulging at the seams, falling over or apart, or simply giving up the ghost.
Once I found the make and model that I liked AND we could afford (there is a difference between the two!) I then started searching in earnest. I wouldn't exactly call this the car of my dreams, because that doesn't involve needing to transport children, bikes or luggage, but it comes as close as is practically possible. (My dream car would do 0-100 in less than a second and have a maximum speed of at least 250km/h, would be red, and have all kinds of really cool on-board technology.)
Nearly a year after beginning the process, I found THE car. Right year, right engine size, right colour, right city, and (most importantly) right price. I was ecstatic! I immediately sent an email to the dealer. Being late on a Saturday, I figured I wouldn't hear anything until Monday, but by Monday morning I was so wound up I figured I wouldn't wait to hear, and so we took a drive out to the dealer to go and test drive the car.
We arrived, only to discover that someone else had beaten us to it! The car I had been hunting for so long had been stolen, from right under my nose. We left, but only after the sales rep had promised she would call me within 24hrs to let me know whether the other person's finance offer had been accepted.
Less than 24hrs later, I couldn't bear the wait any longer, so I called. Had the car, in fact, been sold? And then came the words I had dreamed I would hear - 'No, the finance had not been approved'. Less than an hour later we were back at the dealer, test drive completed, with paperwork filled out and signed. That car would be mine, by hook or by persistence (not by crook... I'm not that kind of person after all... but it doesn't rhyme as nicely, I know.)
After a quick stop at the shops, I was home and the money was EFT'd into the dealer's account. I BOUGHT MY CAR! I still can't believe that this beautiful, wonderful car will soon be delivered to me... It's taken a year, but in just a few days, I will finally see my dream realised: a car that meets our needs as a family, with all the add-on's that I was looking for.
How will I sleep tonight???? The excitement is just overwhelming.
Monday, June 27, 2011
You and Rape
This booklet has been put out by www.rapecrisis.org.za, which gives the legal definition of rape, as well as explaining how to deal with a rape in South Africa. Everyone, men and women alike, should read it. It's in a PDF format, but uses a flash reader.
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