I suppose we are all allowed our trip down memory lane……

I have some very special friends that have travelled this road with me – today I want to tell them how special they are to me and that I am today who I am because of them.

I am in actual fact a little bit of all of them wrapped in one………. So to my friends’ thank you – and when life seems tough and unbearable – go down our memory lane – plenty of laughs there.  Don’t forget we will always have each other………..

LOVE YOU ALL……..

Random memories no particular order – I am sure if you are reading this you will know who you are and see for yourself how fantastic this journey has been……

Shaft

Sheep of all shapes and sizes

Falling through broken chairs

Poetry

Kibbutz dorm wall drawings

Strange Boys reciting poetry on dark stairways

Our ideal man list

Pink champagne

Tin house

Discovery of my first Grey hairs

Train rides and BIG dogs

Broken noses before weddings

Sticky fingers on glass doors

Someone trying to slash my tyres (I parked in his space – lol)

Flameage

Cinderf***ingrella

Jumping over very large fences to get to the other side for a flea market

Jumping over a wall to go skinny dip in a public pool (and being caught)

Trying our first smoke

My first 10 second (most gross) French kiss outside of action cricket

Mr FAT lips

70’s

Ice skating

Safety pins through our ears (HA HA 80’s thing)
pink and yellow eye shadow (DON’T say a word)
NEON pink and yellow ROLLED socks to match our eye shadow

Rolled white bobby school socks

Fish bowels

Fish bowels on my head

Choosing Seth’s name

Double sided bibs

Finding the Lord

Your Wedding

Crimped Hair

Sundowners on “De PLOT”

Horse jumping shows

Being chased by a baby pumba (warthog)

Waking up staring into the eyes of a dassie (GOSH I must stay away from farms)

The perfect Peugeot

Stock taking through the night

Wild Fred

Making up our own “grease” dances

Watching the recorded BetaMax video recording of the new years countdown

21 Jump Street (Johnny DEPP)

Loving

Bingo

Betting on what age we would marry (U O me R100 by the way LOL)

One glass one bottle wine one night

Bee stings

Pump up the Jam

One boob

Jaw ops

Lambada skirts

Dance courses

Military camps with explosions and guns…

Fun Weeks @ St. Johns

Struggling to park my car and you randomly appeared in the parking lot to park my car for me (wow)

Praying together

Sitting in barbed wire while trying to pee

Jool

Oppikoppie

Meeting Art from Just Jinger (on more than one occasion)

Youth camps

Matric

Tings n’ Times

“The Led” Live

Dancing in your lounge with your boet on one of your birthdays

Champagne in my eyes (BLINDED while strange me kiss me (New Years))

Trampolines

2 Matric dance dresses

Working together

Valhalla Primary

Jannie Verjaar cold drinks

Vanilla Ice boyfriend look-a-likes (HAHAHAH)

Stove pipe pants (and lying on the bed to get them up)

Aerobic marathons

Double jointed gyming

Hiking

Fish bowls

Fish bowls on my head

Dropzone

Mc Ginty’s

Hatfield square on New Years

Loosing my new sandal in Hermanus – new years

Two minute noodles

Our tent blowing away

Minnie skirts

Collapsing jumping castles

JA Signs

Cupcakes

Loosing my first pair of ice skates

The robbery

Bashing down doors at 12 @night

The Notebook

Calling me while I am in labour (Bwhahaha)

SETH

Finding Seth’s name

Raising Carla (Lalee)

Broken hearts

Funerals

Pumpkin Patch

Modern talking 

16th 18th and 21st bday

First day at school

Prayer chains

BLOGGING

Blog lunches

Diets

Jeremiah 29 v 11-13

Office Goddess (just a reminder that this is ME)

Hitch hiking

Pole dancing

Hanging washing

Late night chats

Getting married

Support groups

Diets

Hospitals and ops

Fear of the DARK – I.M

Head banging

Slapping men’s glasses off their faces

Trying to get out of a mosh (Bwhahahahahhahahah)

Koos Kombuis live Lisa se klavier

FIFA world CUP in SA

School Home economics Matric exam cook out.

Karaoke

Cub scouts

Prickle

Battery 9 (ha ha)

My hub cap rolling next to my beetle as I drive – LOL

Eastern Cape

moving away (SNIFF) I miss u all  

So if you read carefully you will notice you are all there and rightfully so.

THANKS FOR MAKING ME ME………….

There are so much more and as they come to mind I will add them – LOVE U ALL

As my frustration brings me to my very edge of existence (again) I am here at a place once again where I get to air all my inner thoughts without so much as a peep from the peanut gallery.

SETH SETH SETH…..CARLA CARLA CARLA

Okay that feels better.

Where do we draw the line – how do we stand up for something we feel might be out of place without seeming like the over protected mother.

So my quest for a better school takes me back 2 years now. And finally I thought I had found some inner peace as to where my children were at school.

Seth diagnosed with dyslexia is at a great advantage as the teachers have been able to start teaching him to cope with this disorder. HOWEVER this year he has 2 new teachers oh sorry did I say teachers I meant WITCHES – gosh

Now we are on to 10 spelling words a day (perhaps this is normal for children who learn spelling easy in Grd 5) but for me its like climbing mount Everest every day……… in the beginning of the year it was 20 every Friday – this is still achievable BUT 10 a day they have NO CLUE…. Over and above that he gets 40 – 80 sums a day which I cannot even do without a calculator – HOW AM I TO DO THIS?

When I originally approached both this teachers I nearly had my head removed from my body because one jumped in before I could finish my sentence. And then to top it off they smiled and said. Please keep us informed if the children say anything – because they are scared of us……….. NO SHIT………………I TREMBLE…….

Then Seth says mom they tell us we are a stupid class and they always shouting at us …… and make us sit in at break to do the words we misspell. They only get 30min break – I am ready for war.

Okay so between all this writing I have now phoned the school and spoke with the principle about my grievances. She said she had just spoken to all the teachers about all the shouting going on – it’s not acceptable. NO …… And she would talk to them again. Okay so let’s see where this takes us either it will improve OR they will take it all out on Seth.

Did I do the right thing? Am I over protective – I mean we all had a witch teach us some time or another – And though the thought of that teacher will haunt me for eternity and perhaps I needed physiological help after that who knows, maybe Seth should feel the runt of the world – or maybe just maybe he will love school and his teachers – stay enthusiastic to learn – OR maybe its time to have him tested to see if we can get him on medication – for the concentration?

It concerns me the amount of verbal damage teachers are allowed to inflict on young people not only today but throughout history. IF YOU DON’T LIKE CHILDREN DON’T BECOME A TEACHER. It’s that simple – IF ITS POWER you need become a Sadist or take up chess.

I think even from my own experience at schools growing up teachers can be pretty MEAN…… and really there is no need for any of this.

Carla is doing better – well “condoned pass” is not really better – I have checked her books but it’s not going to make a difference as I don’t know what the books need to really look like. If I ask her about projects and tests – NOTHING MOM REALLY – but mysteriously somehow the teachers have magical marks they can put on the reports every term – from the non existent class work, tests and projects.

Her social appetite has grown as she is now 15 and trying to give her a little space for social networking has just led to her once again walking all over us and pushing every bit of space she gets over the limits.

Do I go back to that “NO sorry you can’t do that” mom? Once again am I too protective – ag man this is crazy – I know teens I know they have issues – but we have just been through years of heartache and new rules and putting down new boarders to get Carla just to cope in society (with ODD) and now we need to start broadening these boarders – Maybe I am just petrified.

Maybe I need the help.

OH dear poor kids

Anyway all this has got me thinking – I NEED COFFEE – so till my next whim.

A loud shout from all in the peanut gallery who feel our day should be a 25 hour day. Come on now - Because I know that when I JUMP out of bed- literally - i am not alone, after hitting the snooze button (TWICE) I feel that I somehow will overcome the snooze if I jump out of bed, sometimes i jump out so quickly i surprise myself. I don't even give my feet time to feel blood and by the time my husband leaves for work I am ready to go back to bed.

My morning like most starts with waking the kids (at least 3 times) and in between making a gourmet lunch for the family to remember me when they are at work and school (W H A T E V E R) and that they will love and appreciate me so much more for this. Jot a quick "romantic note for the hubbies lunchbox because at 6 in the morning my inspiration is overflowing (no not really however Google works 24 hours a day). Then its breakfast and tea and feed the cats. (Who by now are stalking my mothers budgies - as if to threaten me). Feed garden birds - do some bird watching with my boy as he is working on a cub badge, look up the bloody birds in bird books - brush teeth and hair and shove out the door with a kiss.

NEXT - Hubby who slowly stretches his body knowing time will stop for him as he wakes up slowly, peacefully, gracefully without a hair out of place (even the cats gather on the bed for a morning rub) And I am having HOT flushes on the other side of the room - : "SHAME baby (he says) did you not sleep well you look tiered".

Hop in shower, make sure hubby takes lunch - walk hubby to car go indoors - walk lunch to car. kiss and off to work he goes - with a hi ho hi ho.

BREATH........

My work is in the backyard, however people saying: "Oh but its a family business on the premises - how lucky you are" well chances are they have never met my boss the slave driver who by the way knows no priorities and everything and I mean everything is URGENT... ......... AKA my dad mmmmm yes the man who has not only raised me but had dedicated his last 40 years of his life to me - who has towed me more than a million times - who has bailed me out on a month short of cash, (no pressure) So saying no or later is NOT an option, SCREAMING silently in my head and wishing my coffee was Irish is however an option. Also Living on the premises does not make the work less, and instead of a 8 hour day I normally have a much longer day and lunch is a quick dash to the loo. At work i am known as SLAVE CHILD..........

My life is that of colour - so just to brighten it a little more I added a few things, I run a cell group, I volunteer as a mommy helper at cub scouts on a Tuesday and run all the games, I run the youth church on a Sunday (about 40 high school kids) and now and then feed the homeless. Some say amazing others say SUCKER.......... I personally feel some days its SUCKER ........ and feel that some times when volunteers are needed I have a label on my forehead reading "PICK ME - YOU KNOW I CANT SAY NO"

However the work day reaches the end, I rush home to start or finish homework during making dinner - hubby comes home - feed kids feed husband and then I feed the cats (who by now are literally climbing into the fridge every time I open it ) feed any other persons / animals that walks through the door. (no i don't always know where they come from)

Get kids to bath - read a story and the then its about 9 o clock time for planning games or lessons FINALLY its 10 ME TIME so when I collapse into bed i normally like to read however i dont think I ever get past the first paragraph and wake up with a book on my face. And my husband saying Ag shame baby you so tiered shame babes would you mind giving me a back rub. No no not at all, I am sure I can squeeze it in - so thinking about it i don't think that its really a 25 hour day i need - its more a red bull.

So for all you other "normal moms - like me" out there - know this one thing not only are you not alone - but one day the kids will be all grown up and you can retire and if you are like me catch up on some reading.