There is beauty in the mundane

In a world often dazzled by the allure of glamorous careers and extraordinary lifestyles, it's easy to overlook the beauty in the mundane. Not all of us are destined for jobs that whisk us away to exotic locales or fill our days with jaw-dropping experiences. Sometimes, our reality entails the everyday grind, the seemingly mundane tasks that keep the wheels of life turning.

Photo taken with my cell

But here's the thing: there's profound beauty in the routine, in the ordinary moments that make up the fabric of our lives. It's in the quiet morning rituals, the daily commute, and the simple pleasures of home. These moments may not make the headlines or garner Instagram likes, but they are the threads that weave the tapestry of our existence.

Moreover, embracing the mundane can cultivate a deeper appreciation for the extraordinary when it does come our way. Mundanity serves as a contrast, highlighting the moments of excitement, adventure, and wonder. It reminds us to savour those experiences, to cherish them as the gems they truly are.

So, while we may not all have jobs that lead us on glamorous escapades, there's a quiet elegance in the ordinary. It's in finding contentment in the everyday and gratitude for the extraordinary when it graces our lives. Embrace the mundane, for within its simplicity lies the essence of life itself.

The best intentions

Sindi Starr stood on stage looking out at the crowd, squinting slightly while the spotlights beamed down on her. “Is everyone doing OK” she bellowed through her microphone. The crowd responded with a resounding “Yeah” all except for one person sitting alone in the corner of the auditorium. His delayed response “I’m not okay” echoed in the silence after and was captured on the roving camera that panned across the crowd. He caught Sindi’s eye and she stopped, raised her hand and pointed to him. Two men in army like uniforms walked off the stage and went towards him. As they approached him, he stood up, apprehensively and froze in place.

They took him by the arms and led him out of the auditorium, through the side entrance and up the stairs to the backstage area. Sindi shouted to her audience “Alright everyone, I’m going to take a 20 minute break, so go get your drinks and snacks and I’ll meet you all back here in 20 minutes for the second half of the show”

Backstage Sindi walked towards the man with a look of curiosity on her face. Unlike most pop stars, she wasn’t a Diva. She was a rare breed, hardworking, caring and honest. Her extensive vocal range had won her many awards and accolades over the past 5 years since she started singing professionally but her heart was pure and she had a genuine love for her audience because she knew that without them, she would be nothing.

“Hi” she said, holding out her hand to him, he took it with a firm grip. “Hi” he said back. “I’m Sindi” she said. He gave out a little giggle and said “No shit”. Then he felt bad, hung his head and pretended to glance at his shoes. She raised one eyebrow and gave him a pursed look. He looked up and said “My bad, sorry, I’m Dave” She gave one of her body guards a reassuring look and he stepped back to give them space. “Well Dave, what seems to be troubling you? Are you not enjoying the show?”

“No, no” he said in an apologetic tone “The show is great, it’s just that…..I’m all alone. You see I was meant to be sharing this with my wife, she’s the real fan you know. I bought tickets for our one year wedding anniversary which was a week ago. We went on a cruise for 5 days and landed back home yesterday, and since it’s Valentine’s Day I thought this was the perfect ending to a week of love and celebration.” She nodded her head, “I see” she said. “So where is she tonight?” she asked. “Well, that’s just it. On the last day of the cruise she started feeling ill. We think she must have gotten food poisoning or something. When we arrived home yesterday she started with a fever and took to her bed for the rest of the day”

“Oh the poor thing” said Sindi “is she feeling any better today?” He turned away trying hard not to look like he was fighting back tears. “No, last night she ended up in hospital and is on a respirator as she couldn’t breathe. The doctors don’t know what is causing it and I’m not allowed in to see her but she told me in no uncertain terms that I am not to let the tickets go to waste and that I had to come, for her. So here I am”

“Well” said Sindi “Let’s not let her down shall we” She reached down towards the table next to her and gave him a signed photo of herself. “Here take this and give it to her with my love.” He took the photo from her hand and broke down in tears. “Thank you, he said” wiping the tears as they rolled down his cheeks. “There, there” she said, as she reached towards him she grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him close towards her for a hug. He wrapped his arms around her back and they stood there for moment, hugging. Then she stepped back and said “Come get out your cellphone and let’s take a photo together for your wife” He reached inside his jacket pocket, composed himself and the smiled while taking a photo of the two of them, cheek to cheek. “Thank you for this” he said “My wife will be so thrilled”

“No problem, Dave” Sindi said, giving him a broad smile. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a show to finish” and just before she turned to walk away, she leaned forward and gave him one last squeeze.

Dave walked away feeling elated. He couldn’t believe what had just happened and he had the proof! When Claire was better and out of hospital he would try and recreate the concert by playing one of Cindi’s albums in the background while they enjoyed a candlelit dinner for two. He didn’t bother going back into the auditorium for the second act, instead he went home with thoughts of hope swirling around in his head.

Sindi went back to her manager and said “George, I have had a rethink and I want to change things up a little” George, looking visibly stressed, looked back at her “What did you have in mind?”

“I was thinking, this is Valentine’s day 2020 after all, let’s spread the love a little more” George nodded and said “Go on..” his voice trailed off as if he was deep in thought. “Well you’re not going to like it but I’m gonna do it anyway ok and no arguing about it” George nodded once more and shrugged his shoulders as if to signal his surrender. “What is the one thing all humans crave? What does everyone want from me?” George looked puzzled “Love and human contact” she said. “So for the second half of my show, I’m going to come down from my ivory tower and walk amongst the crowd while singing” George looked concerned “But Sindi, that’s not a wise move, there are so many, many things that could go wrong”

“I know George and that’s why you have the gestapo over there to protect me. Look I’m going to spread the love and I’m not backing down on this. I will try and touch each and every person here tonight, personally and physically. I will shake hands, hug and be there to give them a little piece of me and then we will end the show with a slow calm song so the crowd doesn’t get riled up. We could even do a crowd surf and they can all carry me around the stadium”

George was pensive but knew better than to argue with Sindi once her mind was made up. “Alright then” he said. “Almost time to go on, best you get cracking with your costume change”

“No” Sindi said “Leave the headgear and gloves, I want to do this the old fashioned way, skin to skin contact” and she walked out onto the stage to the sound of fifty thousand cheering voices.

Future...

Future...

How did we get here?
No one really knows.
Obstacles and trials
a heart that cared
a grandchild smiles.

How did I get here?
Slipped through your dreams
over mountains and mole hills
and then gentle streams.

How did you get here?
Out of the mire
riding a Trojan horse
you came to inspire.

Where are we going?
It's anyone's guess
two steps forward 3 steps back
oh well let's not stress.

You

You

You obliterated my future.
You destroyed my perceptions of love- they were wrong.
You ruined me for any future relationships- there can be none.
You tore down my walls of self loathing and doubt.
You annihilated my insecurities.

You

You shattered my expectations of normal.
You entice my very being with all that you are.

You

Not content to simply get under my skin, you seeped into my blood stream and your essence flows through my veins.

You

I never came looking for you and yet you found me.
You are a part of me now and forever.

You

Your scent entices me and lingers when you are not there.
Your touch excites me and I feel alive.

You

You challenge me.
You stimulate me.
You intrigue me.
You have changed me.

You

I am completely and utterly enamoured by you.

You

Sometimes my dreams take me back to a dark world before you and I wonder if you are real but then I wake up and you are beside me and I am content.

Shedding some load....

Shedding some load...

I know that load shedding is a pain in the arse and seems to come at the most inconvenient of times but my ever optimistic brain has learned to see the bright side. (pun intended)

My husband and I are early risers which also means we are usually in bed pretty early too (yeah we are old) After dinner we chat for a little and then retire to our bedroom to watch series. Last week we had a bout of load shedding during our 'series time' as my laptop was not fully charged we decided we would sit in the lounge and chat fo half of the time and then watch one episode of our current series as my battery would probably only last that long. We started playing 'who am I' A game where one person thinks of someone and the other has to guess who it is by asking only 20 questions. While playing this game the lights came on and we realised that we had been playing for two hours.

When my step kids came to stay later on in the week, they joined in too and we played some more. Now I know a lot has been said about technology free time and that we should switch off and connect as real human beings every now and then, but how many of us actually do that. These load shedding times have forced us to do just that and instead of moaning about it, I have decided to take this opportunity to spend my time wisely. So we can't change it and we have to endure it, we may as well make it pleasant.

Today in my classroom a group of girls were playing in the kitchen corner during free play, when one of them them said; "Let's play load shedding". I watched curiously as they made a picnic on the floor with the toy food and pretended to light imaginary candles while chatting to each other.

I imagine this is what must be happening all around Cape Town during load shedding. Families are connecting, having conversations and getting to know one another. I'll light a candle to that.

Teaching and parenting.....they are the same thing but different.

Every year around this time when our academic year is drawing to a close, I stop and reflect on my students. I reflect on their year and what they have learned. I think about what they were like in January and how little they were. I compare it to what they have accomplished during the year and where they are now all the while knowing that I was instrumental in that growth. That knowledge gives me pleasure and I feel like my life has a purpose. I do get a little sad knowing that we have to say goodbye. I tend to go all introspection mode during the last few weeks of school but not today, today I started thinking about all the children I have taught since 1992! All the parents I have met and all of their quirks.

Some were fond memories, some were funny and some were sad. I thought about the ones I really really tried so hard to help (you know the difficult ones) and what a difference it made when the parents were working together with me towards a common goal. And then I thought about teaching, academics and the way we cross over sometimes into being a surrogate parent and vice versa.

Did you know that you can teach a child to read and write from a very young age but they won't be emotionally ready till much later. You see there is so much focus on academics these days (and yes I agree our educational standards are not where they should be in grade school and yes for love of god we need better literacy and numeracy stats) So for context, I am only talking about preschool here.

Parents if there is a problem with your child academically their teacher will inform you! Halfway through the first term of school, alarm bells will go off and we can usually tell if your child needs extra help. So don't worry about the academic side of things in preschool, unless the teacher says you must. Rather (and here is a great concept) how about you parent your child instead and leave the academic teaching to the teachers. I'm not saying don't be interested in your child's education. I love it when parents are involved and want to know about their child's school day. But......

I have had parents placing so much emphasis on rote counting up to 20 (even 100) in perfect sequence because they thought it was an important math skill. Well it's not, unless your child understands the concept of each number fully, he has just learned a nice little poem. Numbers are an abstract concept to little ones and rattling off a bunch of them in an order is not maths, it shows that your child has memory skills. But you know what its okay, you didn't know because you didn't spend 4 years studying early childhood development. So leave the academics to us and concentrate on the real lessons in life. The ones that you need to be teaching your child. 

Here they are (in case you have forgotten) Teach your child to:

Share, especially if he is an only child, he may never have had to share his toys at home so it will be very difficult for him to grasp this concept when he goes to school.

Love, not superficially but with his whole heart. You do this by loving him, unconditionally. This will also help him to love himself and build up confidence.

Responsibility, yes even a preschooler can be responsible. Give him a pet to look after, his job could be to feed it and love it. As they get older they can clean out their pet’s living space. Looking after something is a valuable gift you can give your child.

Manners, being polite and social skills. Integrating socially is such an important lesson. Learning to value people and friendships for who they are not how many toys they have. (I know some grownups who still struggle with this concept). 

Honesty and trust, never betray your child's trust. It will come back to haunt you when they are teenagers. They see you gossiping about your friends and take note. They see you telling that little white lie and take note. They see you! 

Most of all teach them to have fun...... the learning will follow naturally.

Children are always learning, everywhere they go, and they take in everything they see, hear and experience. I love how their minds are like little sponges, soaking up their surroundings. This is one of the reasons I love teaching preschoolers, their inquisitive nature and willingness to learn. I would far rather teach them than teenagers because they already know everything!

Vintage #Blogvember (late post)

Day 9 of #Blogvember: Take a photo of Vintage....

This is in our kitchen, we have not used it yet but it is an original Dover wood burning stove.

If we ever run out of electricity we can still cook or bake in this. Such a treasure to have.

I also like really pretty old tea sets which is really funny since all the pretty vintage things we have in our house comes from the kitchen. (a place I really don't like to spend a lot of time in).

This stove reminds me of an era without electricity an era of hard labour and very little luxury. I can almost imagine a woman who stayed at home to cook and clean while her husband went out to work in the coal mine. Her sole purpose in life was to bear his children, provide him with meals, a clean home and a sympathetic ear.

In almost stark contrast to the above picture, the one below reminds me of a different age. One of Marie Antoinette and opulence.

This tea cup is Royal Albert fine bone china which we found in my husband's parents house. This was part of a series of cups called Flower of the month. It has July written inside it which was his mom's birthday month.

I love the colours and the elegance of it, the fact that it is feminine, delicate and pretty.

Royal Albert fine bone china

It quietly tells me of days spent sipping tea and eating sweet cakes while sunbathing in the conservatory. Children playing on the well manicured lawn and men in top hat and tails.
Isn't it amazing how a single item, piece of music or a saying can conjure up such imagery in your mind and transport you to a different place. Long live our imaginations! Modern technology has not been able to kill it yet.