Be strong...

I really missed my mother in law this past weekend - not only because it was Easter weekend and I just know she would have invited us for lunch on Sunday serving chicken and mushroom pie, beans and potatoes mashed with lots of pepper, sweet pumpkin and sticky rice.  (I can smell the different aromas that used to tantalise my nose when I opened the front door to her home.)  I also missed her because I needed her.  I needed her wisdom and her encouragement.  I needed her to tell me (yet again) that things aren't always as bad as they seem. 
When the boys were younger, I felt 'big'.  I felt half in control, that everything can be dealt with by using good organisational skills and a 'to do' list.  Then as they started getting older, I started feeling smaller, half out of control.....  Ma Helen had 4 boys and always seemed in control.  Nothing got her down. 
Now my boys tower above me in stature and in personality and I must say that I sometimes feel overwhelmed.  I don't know how to deal with many of the situations that are sent my way.  Organisational skills and to do lists don't work anymore.....  I have to rely on the foundation I gave them when they were still small and I was 'tall'.
I needed Ma Helen this weekend to say "You think that things are all topsy turvey because you are seeing it through your eyes, but God is looking at the situation through His eyes, and everything is on track."  He dreamt about each of my sons before they were born.  He has a plan for each one of them, and I must have faith in Him.  And when things get really tough? "Be strong.  God has promised He will never let you go through more than you can handle."

When a craft turns into harmful intent

One of the useful things about having a 'smart' phone is that I can surf the internet while I'm waiting to pick up kids, in a queue at Pick 'n Pay etc.  And I can bookmark them.... which makes it easier to find them again.  It's also great when the boys need to look up something on the internet as we don't have a computer at home. 

So it came about that Dylan wanted to check something and asked if he could borrow my phone.  Sure thing....  I was sitting at the dining room table and looked up to watch something on the television.  My eyes drifted over to Dylan and I could see this intense look on his face.  Then he frowned deeply, tilted his head and looked at me. 
"Why would you want to make a Roman blind?" 
"It's to hang in my kitchen"
The look intensified........ 
and then I clicked.....
"Dylan, it's not a real Roman person........ it's a window dressing."
"Ooohhhh"  Relief.
He had seen by bookmark on "How to make a Roman blind."

Sounding strange?

I don't usually take my cellphone into the bathroom with me, firstly because I hate being interupted in the one place where I can be alone with my thoughts, soaking in a hot tub with bubble bath, secondly because when some-one phones they KNOW you are in the bathroom by the echo.....
But this one afternoon I decided to take my phone with me for the reason that no-one else was home and I wasn't quite sure whether Dylan had a lift home or not.
And, as luck would have it, 5 minutes into my luxurious bath time experience, the phone rings..... grab a towel, dry hands, save the towel before it falls into the bath, grab the phone, grab the glasses (can't see the green button without them...) answer the phone - and it is, in fact, Dylan...
"Hallo"
"Hallo, Mom?"
"Hi Dylan...."
"Mom?"
"Yes Dylan, what's wrong?"
"Mom can you hear me?"
"Yes Dylan, speak....." (I am dripping foam and freezing from the breeze coming in through the window)
"Mom? Ok, I have a lift home"
"Great, Dylan, where are you now?" (I need to know whether I must finish my bath quickly so that I can unlock the front door for him, or can I spend an extra 20 minutes relaxing).
"Can't hear you, what are you saying Mom?"
"Wheeerrreeee  aaaaarrreeeee yoooouuuuu?"
"Whaaaaat?"
"Where are you!!!!!
"Mom, send me an sms, bye!"
So I duly send him an sms "Where are you"
"Leaving work now...... why do you sound vacuum packed?"

Living in Denial

I spent the evening on the laptop surfing the net and checking out the UNISA website for the course that Dylan wants to study.  I'd like to disagree with anyone who thinks that this is a user friendly site.....  Page after page of useless information and the search function takes you back to Google (?).

Dylan sits patiently at my side until we eventually find the degree that he fancies.  But looking through the selection of degrees and diplomas I start to feel that maybe I'd like to study something too.  That would really boost my self confidence. 

Dylan sits attentively at my side - "What would you like to study?" Dylan asks.
 "I don't know...." I  respond.
 "What about Psychology?  All old people study psychology." he says while typing away on his phone.
 "I'm not old!" I say. 
There were a few minutes of silence before he says: "Well, people in denial also study psychology......." 

A Christmas Gift for Divan

Anyone who knows Divan, knows him as friendly and fun to be with.  He does, however, have the tendency to find friends who get him into trouble.  He has had a rough High School career because of this.  I always say that he has an internal magnet that pulls these characters towards him.  He is very impulsive and won't think before he does something which ultimately gets him into a spot of bother.  We love him all the same and try to guide and counsel him constantly without getting into his personal space.

At Christmas, Dennis's girlfriend, Robyn, was helping Dennis buy Christmas gifts for his brothers.  Dennis decided on arm bands from Gospel Direct - very nice leather arm bands with a silver plate with a engraved cross on it.  (I think he was hoping it would ward off evil spirits). 

After handing out the gifts on Christmas eve, Divan and Dylan were very pleased with their gifts from Dennis.  Robyn leant over the table and said to me: " There were no WWJD arm bands....." (What Would Jesus Do.)

The sweet smell of memories

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed a new fragrance in our offices.  A friendly fragrance, if you know what I mean? Pleasant.  But I could never figure out where it came from.  I asked a few of my colleagues if they had changed their perfume, smelled a few wrists, but it wasn't the fragrance I had picked up in the passages.

Our office cleaning lady walked into my office about a week later - and I picked up the fragrance again.  It was her! The perfume reminded me of something or someone.  You know the feeling when it's there.... you almost have it, but then it disappears like mist leaving an empty feeling behind.

The fragrance is Rare Pearls from Avon and I immediately ordered it from them.  It arrived yesterday and I was really excited about it.  But I still couldn't place the memory.  It was a good memory, I could feel that much, but what it was I didn't know.

Eager to show it off to Dennis, I opened it in the kitchen and let him smell. "Mmmmm, nice." (I'm on this new 'wish I was more feminine' trip....).  Divan then took the bottle from me, smelled it, looked at me again, smelled it again, and then said: "Dis Ouma Helen."

And then I knew, I smelled her.  And it WAS a good memory.  I miss you Mom.

Welcome to MY world

Seeing as both Divan and Dylan are finished with exams, Dennis (my husband) decided that to keep them busy he would organise a part time job for them.  This was easily arranged as the company he works for is in the process of moving from one premises to another.
Both boys are going through a body building phase and had asked whether they could join a gym in December so that they could lift weights and be 'ripped' by January.   They were not impressed when we told them that they would be lifting 'weights' during December packing up a factory!  What's the problem? - they are getting paid to get 'ripped' and I'm not getting 'ripped' off paying for the gym!
They were due to start bright and early on Tuesday morning.  Decked out in their tracksuit pants and t-shirts, I dropped them off at 06h15 - all bright eyed and bushy tailed.
It was another story when I picked them up at 18h15..... both were wearing overalls with their tracksuit pants under their arms - dead tired!  Divan immediately lay down on the back seat and Dylan got in beside me.  "So", I said, "How was your day?" trying to hide my smile.
"Look at my arms!" exclaimed Dylan "I look like an emo who failed" (scratches from the boxes running across his wrists).  "We packed 96 boxes!!!" from the back seat.
Later during the evening, I asked Dylan whether he had heard from his girlfriend during the day.  " I had no contact with the outside world...." he tells me. :)
Divan, resting his head on the armrest of the sofa, looks at me and says: "Do you know what it's like to know you have to go back to work tomorrow?"
And I smile and say: "Welcome to my world."