Tag: bloganuary 2023

Gifts from the heart

Bloganuary day 9 (Holy macaroni we are almost through the first 3rd of January!)

Today’s Prompt: What is the most memorable gift you have received?

Sjoe it is hard to pin this down to just one thing. There are a few that stand out in my mind for various reasons.

  • A carved wooden bangle that my aunt had sent for me while she was still in exile. She was my favourite aunt, especially when I was a kid. She used used to give us the bag of sweets when we left the farm. You can read about it here. They had to leave in the dead of night without saying goodbye and without telling anyone in the family where they were going back in 1980 or so. We were devastated and for a long time we, the kids, were never told where in the world she and her son’s were for their safety. In approximately 1988, her daughter and her family were able to visit her in Botswana although she was largely based in Tanzania while she was in exile. Her daughter brought back gifts, one of which was this bangle that she gave me. I was so thrilled. I had missed my aunt so and it blew me away that she thought of me while she was away. I still treasure that bangle.
  • The pottery roses that my son created for me in his preschool class when he was 4 years old. They are so beautiful and he was so proud of them. He made them for Mother’s day. They stay on a shelf above my bed where I look at them every day. They were clearly made with love.
  • A card that my son made for mother’s day in primary school. He coloured it in in the brightest, most beautiful colours. It just looked perfect. The thing is that he hated colouring anything in from the time he could hold a crayon. His teachers would get so frustrated with him. For whatever reason, that year, he put his heart and soul into colouring that card so I really treasure it. I often remind him how much grateful I am for it and how much I appreciate how he put aside his hatred for colouring in to create such a beautiful card for me. He beems every time I tell him.
  • My younger sister had once bought me a beautiful wooden wardrobe jewellery box for Christmas. I loved it so much. It reminded me of how thoughtful her gifts always were. Unfortunately I don’t have it anymore as a few termites discovered it so I had to get rid of it but I loved that jewellery box and all that it signified about her.

Those are just a few of the very memorable gifts that I received.

Some of my most treasured gifts
My bangle from Tanzania

That’s it for today. Thanks for stopping by. Bye for now.

Of Bloodlines and Origins

Bloganuary day 8

Today’s prompt: How far back in your family tree can you go?

I was so surprised that this was today’s prompt as, out of the blue, my son and my nephew both asked for access to our family tree this afternoon. Our Family tree was therefore top of mind for me anyway today. How cool is that!

We are very fortunate in that my Dad has spent the last few years delving into the history of our family, especially on his dad’s side as this is name we carry. Thus far he has gone as far back as the early 1700’s. On my mum’s side, we can trace my grandfather’s family back to the 1800’s as far as I know but we don’t know really know anything about my grandmother’s family.

We are of mixed race. On my dad’s side it is English and Zulu and on my mum’s side it is English and St Helenic. Somehere in the St Helenic line is Asian ancestory as the boys in particular in my grandfather’s family have Asian features. My mum inherited those feautues as well and passed those genes on to us as well. It is has far easier to trace the English bloodline than it has been the Zulu line. As far as I know, no records exist for the Zulu bloodline. I assume my mum’s mum still has family in St Helena as I went onto the website one day and I say a picture of a lady standing at her back door that looked so much like her. When I looked at the caption I was pleasantly surprised to see that she had the surname as my gran so it’s highly likely she is family.

As most of our knowledge is about my dad’s side of the family, I can only really speak to that. I must admit that it has been empowering to learn that we descend from ship owners on the one hand and a strong, courageous woman on the other. Unfortunately all my grandparents had passed by the time I was 10 and I never knew my dad’s dad as he passed when my dad was 16. My dad’s mum is the only one I got to hear stories from. She would have us help her fold laundry on rainy days and entertain us with stories of her school days. She was one of the first 23 students that attended the school where she grew up in the early 1900’s so it was all very novel to them.

The pics below were taken at the home of my Great great grandfather which, up until recently, was a snapshot of their life in the early 1900’s. It is also surrounded by a nature reserve so it is extremely peaceful. I have loved walking through the grounds. We’ve had to side step the zebras and, if we wanted to see the buck that roamed the grounds, we had to remain very still as they were very skittish. It’s also the location that I chose for our family portrait last year.

Coedmore castle. Photographer: Author
Posing with the Zebras. Photographer: Author
Understanding their history with Grandpa. Photographer: MFenner Photography

We inherit from our ancestors gifts so often taken for granted. Each of us contains within this inheritance of soul. We are links between the ages, containing past and present expectations, sacred memories and future promise.

Edward Sellner

I could go on and on about our family tree but i will stop here. I think it is so importnat and very empowering to know where we come from. We don’t realise that we all carry great bloodlines if we go back far enough.

Thank you for taking this walk through our family history with me. I hope you have enjoyed it. Bye for now.

Rain

Bloganuary Day 7

Today’s Prompt: Write a short story or poem about rain

Oh My Hat! What a challenge! Since today is my 50th birthday and I guess I’ll start this decade off with something new. Here’s my attempt at writing a short poem about Rain. Here goes:

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
Rain falls.
Constantly, relentessly.
Pounding the windows, the earth.

Streams form. Rivers rise
Sand loosens.  Mud slides
Walls slump. Homes crumble.
Life fades.  Futures change.

What was is washed away 
What is is in ruins
What will be? What will be?

A new dawn.  A new day.
Sun shines.  Debris is cleared
A new earth revealed.  New dreams arise

Let me know what comes to mind and what you think of itl. Let me live and learn 😊

That’s it for today. Bye for now.