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2020: Four funerals and a wedding
It’s been the best of times, it’s been the worst of times. I mean, besides for learning how to bake our own banana bread, 2020 has been showing us flames. Our “best of times” included the occasional Zoom wedding (which is pure genius, btw…). As human beings, we have somehow mastered the art of staying connected, without being in the same room. I dig that. Our “worst of times” involved losing many loved ones over a short period of time. And, honestly friends, death had always been a far off notion, for me, until this year. We’ve become heavily acquainted with grief. You don’t fully appreciate your time on earth…
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My social media is a lie
I try not to catch feelings. Mainly because catching feelings means that my hands are full. It hinders my productivity. But, the truth is that I DO catch feelings sometimes… and like an expert nogals. In fact, my husband would tell you that on a particularly challenging day, I’d be out here catching feelings like Mark Boucher in his heyday. So that’s, like, a lot of feelings being caught. Why the monologue about catching feelings? Well, Gladys, if you follow me on the socials you’ll know that we’ve experienced a lot of loss this year. Having to watch our loved ones say goodbye to family members, on repeat, over a…
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Blessed are the peacemakers
When it comes to feuding and arguments, I kinda, uhh… don’t. Meaning: I don’t participate. I try not to indulge in little spats and angry text messaging and holding onto a grudge until 7de Laan’s Oubaas returns to Hilda (so that’s, like, a long time). I mean (honestly now) besides for being way too busy and way too lazy (at the same time nogals) to participate, I do find holding on to anger to be quite tedious and unproductive. And as you know – spreadsheet brain – my aim is to be super productive at all times. (Yes, even when I’m scrolling through Instagram Martha, thanks for pointing that out,…
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Pregnant again?
Now, as you may know, I have a lot of children, and (like all other children) they are especially cute… so one could say that we’ve done a good job at creating kids. Right? Until I give off a whiff of my favorite scent – Eau De Pregnant – and people start losing their metaphorical ish. Because, apparently, I’m only allowed to be pregnant a certain amount of times AND within a certain period, or else I’m straight up being sloppy… and that’s not a good look. Well, that’s what I heard from all the ‘CEO of Ovaries‘ who cared to weigh in on the topic. So yes, I’ve been…
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My Covid-19 experience and why I chose to not get tested again
My run in with Covid-19 was a bit…uh…anti-climatic. It’s almost as if the virus was playing “where’s he, there’s he!” with me. I mean, I had been totally convinced that I was Covid-19 positive, like, thrice a week, since the start of lock down. With every cough or sniff I would be on my knees asking God to spare my life. Yeah, dramatic much, right? Except that when we lost someone who was very close to our family, to Covid-19, suddenly the dramatics were totally called for. And suddenly my every cough or sniff felt that much more deadly. Mind you, my symptoms had seemingly worsened and I felt like…
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When to talk to your child about career
I don’t know if you guys are aware, but your cute little poppets are going to morph into hairy, sweaty, opinionated teenagers eventually. And, besides for all the hair and body odour, the opinionated part will probably be the thing that irks you the most. For me and my hairy teen, the biggest debate has been around career. I mean, if the kid could make a living off of playing XBox games, he would gladly do so. But alas, this option (even though its a real career nogals) is not available to him right now. We’ve toyed around with a bunch of different career options and we honestly still have…
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4 Ways To “Slow Down” Our Happy Memories With Our Children
We’ve all had that feeling that childhood passes by too quickly. We parents wake up one day and our kids no longer want to play with us, and we feel like our recollection of this golden time of endearing neediness has slipped away. Well, what if there were a way to work against this feeling? To make the memory of our children’s childhood feel slower, broader, deeper, richer? A quick dip into the history of memory, of mnemonic techniques, can offer a guide as to how. 1. Keep Track of Firsts. The key to expanding the sense of richness and breadth of our interactions with our kids is by quantifying…
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Lockdown lessons: I need to be alone sometimes
I remember waking up the day after lockdown had commenced, and realising that I don’t really have anything to prepare for. (I mean, duh, I still work from home, but that’s not what I’m talking about). I mean: there were no events to plan, schedules to manage and family time to balance. I didn’t have to stress about washing my hair or finding the perfect outfit or making sure that I have a babysitter. There were no bags to pack and no clothes to iron. No rehearsals to plan for and no meetings to prepare for. No lunch to make. No phone calls to take, as I dash out of…
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Childhood story: The boy who smiled
My childhood years were pretty boring and uneventful. I grew up in a two bedroomed home, in (what some would call) the “hood” of Port Elizabeth. My neighbors, and childhood friends, were Afrikaans speaking and my sister and I (both very much of the English speaking variant of brown people) kinda fumbled our way through communicating with them but, somehow, we all made it work, unperturbed. Our summer holidays were the best. We woke up extra early to a quick breakfast of jam sandwiches and hot tea, and hastily dressed ourselves in arb short and t-shirt combos, running our fingers through our long hair until we were presentable enough to…
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Privilege? Check.
I don’t know about you guys but our current lock down situation is showing me flames. It’s hard to be content with staying in one place when you have ish to do, right? I mean, lock down has forced me to cancel events, hair appointments, coffee dates… I’m so annoyed! Also, I desperately need a Big Mac meal. Argh, this is so frustrating. The outcry! The heartbreak! However will I cope?! Aaand right there, in that moment, is when I realize that I am being a chop and that I need to check my privilege. You see, friends, privilege probably looks a lot different to each person. I mean, it’s…
