Tag: memories

When Life Happens, We Create New Traditions

Day 24 and another Christmas Eve rolls around.  As a kid, this was the most magical night of the year.  It’s 22:50 as I write this.  We would have all been in church now, and we would have opened our gifts as soon as we got home.  But she is not here anymore, and those traditions are now relegated to the happy memory box.   

We do have a new tradition, though.  Being with family is still the most important part of our Christmas.  We gather at my sister’s house.   Her husband does most of the cooking.  He makes a mean curry, and his gammon is delicious!  My contribution this year is the beef tongue, which no one will eat as it is too salty, and the dessert. The day is filled with love and laughter, and that is all we can ask for, so this is what I am most grateful for today.  I am really looking forward to tomorrow.  

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Having to change our traditions after losing a loved one is a reminder that we have a presence and we take up space.  I used to think that it was so sad how we just go on with our lives after someone’s death.  We don’t really, though.  We have to find ways to live without that person.  The person and their role in your life can never be replaced.  The thought of it makes me realise how valuable and unique we are, and that is definitely something to be grateful for.  

I am going to keep it short and sweet tonight.  Thanks for popping by.  

Let me know in the comments what your special Christmas memories or traditions are and why.  

Have a wonderful Christmas! Bye for now

Take Time To Smell The Roses

Bloganuary Day 16

Today’s Prompt: Do you have a memory that’s linked to a smell?

I have many but there is one memory that always comes to mind first when someone asks that question. Part of my job is requires conducting market research and I sometimes ask consumer’s that question as well. Fragrance is linked to so many memories for all of us and can be a powerful motivator to buy or to continue using a product.

Photo by Ron Lach on Pexels.com

The memory I most often associate with a fragrance is that of my maternal grandmother sitting at her dressing table and removing her make-up using Pond’s Cold Cream. The cream had a distinctive rose note in the fragrance and her bedroom would be filled with it. In my memory I was standing at her bedroom door and watching her. I don’t remember anything before or after that moment. I lived with my grandparents for 6 months before she passed on. I was only 6 at the time so I don’t have very many memories of her but this memory really stands out in my mind for some reason. Funnily enough, Pond’s is one of the brand’s I work on today and the brand that is closest to my heart. We currently have a beautiful cleansing balm that is a modern version of our iconic cold cream and it also has a beautiful rose note in the fragrance. I always think of my gran when I open a jar.

What memory stands out most for you that relates to a smell? Let me know in the comments. Bye for now.

Teddy Bears and Geese

Bloganuary Day 3 – what a challenge!

Today’s Prompt: What is the earliest memory you have?

Well. I honestly don’t know what my earliest memory actually is. I do remember my tartan teddy which I wrote about last year. He got lost before I was 4 I would say but it was clearly a pretty tragic event for me because I still remember him very clearly and the pic is just proof that he did exist and i am not going mad ..lol

The Farm

Other than my teddy, I remember having an awesome childhood. We spent a lot of time on the farm where I ran wild with my cousins and had a ton of fun. I remember my gran taking my sister and I for a walk through the sugar cane on our way to the dam. We dodged a huge cane rat and a snake that was in hot pursuit of it on that particular trip. I remember my cousin and I being chased by geese. We were in tears and our dads were crying as well but for a very different reason. They were crying tears of laughter at our stupidity especially since they did warn us. 😂 Of course my favourite memory of the farm was sunday afternoons when we would stop at my aunt’s shop to say goodbye and she would give us each a little bag of sweets. Well, guess who my favourite aunt on the farm was…lol

The Flats

I also remember us living in the local council flats. There were lots of kids to play with and play we did. Michelle was such a common name then that there was a Michelle in almost every block. When the mum’s would come out and shout for us at the end of the day, the name Michelle would be heard most often. One of my clearest memories of that time was the day my mum asked me to sit on the stairs and wait for the ice-cream man to come. I was so excited. When he did arrive and my mum came out, the coins had all disappeared. Turns out I had put them in my mouth and accidently swallowed them although I did not remember actually doing it at the time and to this day. Needless to say, we didn’t have any ice-cream that day and it took a few more days before that money was recovered. 🤦🏽‍♀️ TV came to South Africa in 1976. I was 3 years old then. We didn’t have a TV then. When we moved to the flats, my best friend’s family lived below us. They would let my sister and I watch a programme or two in the evenings. TV programming only started at 6pm.

I don’t know if the same thing happened to you but I noticed that the memories I do have of those early years are memories that have a strong emotion attached to them. Some are joyful and some are created through a traumatic or fear-filled event. If I am not mistaken, this has been proven in a study somewhere along the way. I know that Tony Robbins also talks about doing things, especially with your kids and loved ones, that invoke strong positive emotions to create lasting memories of the experience for everyone. I guess it clearly works.

Thanks for reading. I hope you had as fun with the topic as I did going down memory lane. Bye for now.