The keys to my heart

11 years ago I made a scrapping page about my three kids.

I wrote each of them a note and chose a font that I thought suited their personalities. I recently paged through the albums and read what I had written. I can't believe how accurate and appropriate the notes are 10 years on. At the time of writing, Tarryn was 14 Kiara was 9 and Devin was 6 years old. Take a read and see what you think.

Tarryn

For you I chose "girly curls" as a font, not only because I know it's your favourite but it also sums up the way I see you. You are my girly girl. My mirror image. As you grow and go through stages, I am reminded of myself at various ages. My advice to you would be to appreciate who and what you are.  Focus on all your positive attributes. The only negative ones are created in your own imagination. Use your talents of responsibility, patience, your ability to be practical and listen. Believe in yourself and know that you can do anything you set out to do. I love you, mom.

Kiara

I chose a "butterfly" font for you because that is what you remind me of. A free spirt flying around and seeing the beauty most of us just don't get. You are my passionate, intense and spirited darling. You have been blessed with so many talents, the obvious arty ones that you are already perusing.  Don't forget to nurture your other talents like your ability to be sensitive to how other people are feeling.  My advice to you would be to have more fun and don't stress yourself out too much. Concentrate on what makes you happy. I love you, mom.

Devin

The font I have chosen for you is called "golf" because you epitomize the qualities that the game stands for, honesty, integrity, sportsmanship and a whole lot of fun. You have such a wonderful caring and balanced personality. I love your teasing nature that comes straight from your dad. My advice to you would be to live your life with the certainty that you have an excellent character, don't deviate what what you know is good and pure and right. I love you, mom.

Devin's 18th

I have to reflect on Devins 18th birthday that just passed. It really feels like just a while ago that Richard, Peter Richmond and I were sitting on the same patio I still have, chatting about life and the plans for Devin's delivery the next day. We didn't know he was a boy at that stage. His birth was delayed from early morning to late afternoon because of an emergency and so I had the epidural and Richard was with me for his birth. He was so excited and kept saying Tasha "you won't  believe what it is" and then eventually said "it's a boy" he was absolutely delighted. The girls at home cried when they heard the news, they wanted a girl!

I spent that Christmas in the Sandton clinic with Devin and we had a full Christmas lunch together. All the rest of the family came to visit and they spent Christmas in Randburg with Darrel and Marina

So many things have happened since then, good and bad but our family unit has survived. I think the best and most recent example of the resilience that my kids have, is for Devin's birthday he wanted to go to the strip club Teasers with some friends, and I managed to arrange a driving service to take them to Rivonia and to fetch them. He called me later and said that Teasers was unexpectedly closed but he was negotiating with the driver and would make alternate arrangements. I think that has been the best quality that we all share. Things happen and life doesn't go as planned but we are able to make a plan and keep smiling.

A lot of people would have felt hard done by and moaned about their misfortune, not Devin.

Bedtime stories

I was tidying my study today and saw these Enid Blyton books. I collected most of a series of 100 Enid Blyton books and began reading them to Tarryn when she was little. My family grew to 3 so I got lots of opportunities to read the stories to my kids. We never got through all the books, mostly because I had to re-read the favourites. The Faraway Tree was the all time winner, followed by Mr Pink Whistle and Amelia Jane. Such amazing memories of special times with my kids. I wrote the dates in pencil in a lot of the books and who I read the stories to. Thinking about them always took me back to my childhood, reminiscing about reading the yellow, black and blue Enid Blyton books that belonged to my aunt Dolores. I found one at a bookshop once and bought it just for the memories. Kiara made me read Naughty Amelia Jane to her the other night and she's 20 years old. I hope that's one thing they treasure with their own kids one day, there is nothing as nice and all cuddling up on the bed with a great book.

I ♥️ Cape Town

This past weekend, Scott and I flew down to Cape Town to see grandad and the rest of the family. We managed to pack such a lot into our 3 days, I got fantastic photos, loved seeing the family and swam in 2 oceans again. The sea just does something to me, I fall in love with it every time.

Clifton was perfect but the water was freezing

Army wives (and girlfriends) revisited

So I've been watching Army Wives and seeing a mom saying goodbye to her son going off to Iraq and it brought memories flooding back of saying goodbye to paratrooper Richard Dean Dawson each time he was called up to the border war in Angola. Seeing him in his browns with his balsak over his shoulder, his heavy boots and his name on a tape sewn to his chest, his purple beret at a jaunty angle covering half his forehead, wondering if it was going to be the last time I ever held him in my arms. He would whisper assurances to me promising that he would be back soon and that his first letter would be in the post as soon as he could. He never worried what the other guys would say and always made me feel like we were alone in the middle of all the tangled goodbyes. We were the lucky ones, he came back every time.

The time I remember clearest was one where the guys flew in to the then Jan Smuts airport and we had to collect them at one of the quiet hangars, I had just been doing modeling for a photo shoot at the Germiston camera club and I was wearing high heels and a leopard print dress. All the guys were hanging around chatting on the far side of a 100m concrete quad, I walked across the concrete,  feeling all the eyes on me until I got to Richard and we ran the last steps and he swung me around just like in the movies. He had the proudest smile on his face and told me later the guys were saying who is that hot chick and he said "she's mine!" I loved that story and that day.

The loves of my life

Each in their own unique way these 3 children of mine have made me so proud to be their mom.

It was not the greatest reason that we were all together this year but I am so grateful that we got to have this photo. Love you more 8x

Back on blog

This resurgence of my blog posting is made possible by those whose steadfastly refuse to join the Facebook crew, not that I am without empathy for your plight, I agree on most of your points excepting that you don't get to find out what the heck is happening around you!!

So I'm starting with the latest info and I will slowly be adding willy-nilly in either direction on the timeline to news and updates in my world.

Here goes

Last night I had an absolutely fabulous evening with my two brothers in law. We have not all been together for about 3 years which is disgraceful and we have pledged to remedy that in the coming months, even though we live in different provinces. Scott arranged tickets to see Spamalot as he knows we are all Monty Python fans and we had a great catch-up, dinner and enjoyable show. I will keep you posted about our family pledge.