Life Trove: Mum

"If the whole world were put into one scale, and my mother in the other, the whole world would kick the beam." Henry Bickersteth

All posts with Mum

Posts of me with Mum

My Special Memories

Mum´s support with my school essays and homework - and before tests and exams
Xmas mornings - mince pies, brandy butter and generous presents
Her glorious cooking (rich chocolate mousee, trifle, Xmas pudding and cake, sunday roasts, kedgerie, toad in the hole, steak and kidney pie, baked cruchies, creme caramel)
Family holidays to Eight Bells, Mauritious, Drakensberg, Midmar Dam
Support at school through lift clubs, support at all my rugby games, sports days, plays, tuck shop
Our mutual love for marzipan
The Montebello Days - lazing on the balcony
Mums wonderful relationship with Mike and the fun they have
Mum and Mike's wonderful wedding - mum looked so happy and it was so special that Gran and Gramps were there to see it
Her constant support (with our wedding logistics, packing Willow Road, my SA admin while I was abroad)
Watching TV on Saturday nights with chocolate and coffee
Sunday morning family lie in as kids
Meeting Ally and making her feel so comfortable, welcoming her as a member of the family
Stealing almonds from her cupboard (always so well stocked)
Family washing up sessions
Camping trips with the big tent (with Rusconis and Cullies)
Mum typing my university assignments while I dictated - and correcting my grammar as we went along
What a wonderful gran she is with Sam and Matthew
Visiting us with Mike in Cambridge and Hammersmith
Her family photo albums, so well loved and the past so well recorded
Her love hate relationship with her computer
Her amazing Xmas dinners
Family outings to the beach (Muizenberg, Boulders, St James)
Her amazing courage when dad died
Her loyalty to her friends who have been there since I can remember (Lizz, Wendy, Colleen, Barbara, Dorreen, Jocelyn, Gill & Derry, Gill Fitnum)
Never forgetting birthdays or special occasions
Her Bridge
Her loyalty and committment to Red Cross
Her committment to Kloeckner Muller
The beautiful poem she wrote me when she went into hospital
Her amazing, extraordinary, incredible generosity
Her incredible support of Gran and Gramps
Sending us photos of the family and keeping us constantly in touch through newsy emails
Jumping through the sprinkler at Xmas 2005
Our weekend in Club Mykenos (2005)
Staying over at The Sheraton during our Cape Town visits and great family meals there.
Our family Christmas reunion in 2009 and how welcome and cared for I felt in mum and Mike's (for me) new home at Monorgan Mews
Proudly showing off Sydney when mum and Mike visited us in 2008 and going house hunting together
Proudly showing off our new home when mum and Mike visited us in Sydney in 2009 - and how much they loved Manly
Lazing together in the warm waters of Hot Water beach when we all travelled through New Zealand together
How mum's support literally sustained me through the most difficult period of my life from mid 2008 - mid 2010. Her unconditional love (and our numerous Skype chats) was the beacon that helped me get through it all
Mum calling me every night while I was alone in the Kruger for over three weeks - it was the highlight of my day
Her amazing generosity during my 2012 holiday to Cape Town - my flight, Orange River trip, malaria pills, dentist, clothes and shoes, hotel in Joberg. Wow is all I can say.
Her passion for Bridge

Excerpt from mum and Mike's wedding speech (2001)

Its fitting that Mike is such a special chap because he has found in my mum, a very, very, special partner. She is simply the most generous and caring person I know, which is undoubtedly a quality she has inherited from her own mum. She is always there for her friends and family, always thinking of others, always ready, at the drop of a hat, to give of her time and energy to help someone. And no matter what comes her way in life, she always remains the same - optimistic, full of life and down to earth.

Mum has been an absolute treasure to Jo and me, always encouraging us to follow our own dreams and do what makes us happy. She has also been the most amazingly supportive daughter to granny and gramps during their time in Woodside Village.

And of course, she is the most wonderful Granny. I don't think there has ever been in the history of the world, a more doting and adoring granny than she is to Sam.

So all I can say is that mum deserves only the most special things that life can bring and that is one of the reasons we are so delighted that she has found a soul-mate in someone as special as Mike.

Letter (May 2014)

Dearest mum

Thank you for bringing me into this wondrous world; for the greatest gift of all - the gift of life.
Thank you for insisting I was the most beautiful baby in the nursing home!
Thank you for the love you heaped on me as a baby - it is so clear to see in all my baby photos.
Thank you for all the times you changed my nappy and for all the times you got up at night when I cried.
Thank you for putting up with me when I cried non-stop for 12 hours on the plane when you visited England.
Thank you for bringing Jo into my life - having such an amazing sister has enriched my life to an indescribable degree.
Thank you for putting up with me when I drew on the walls with crayon and emptied the box of washing powder when Jo arrived.
Thank you for all the sacrifices you and dad made to have Jo and me especially when things were tight.
Thank you for letting me get dirty in the garden, building my constructions in the sand pit. You were always relaxed about that.
Thank you for taking so many snap shots when we were young and keeping everything meticulously in your photo albums - a priceless record.
Thank you for getting me that book "What's Happening to Me" and for explaining the facts of life in a way that didn't make me think it was a big deal.
Thank you for your amazing generosity at Xmas and birthdays - I was always blown away by what I unwrapped; never once disappointed.
Thank you for getting me the toys that brought me so much joy: my soft toys, lego, roller skates, action men, army trucks, stamps, ATARI games, my commodore 64 and many more.
Thank you for getting us "The World Book" - it started my fascination with the wonders of the world.
Thank you for letting us join you and dad in bed on Sunday mornings even when I wriggled and kept going under the covers. It was such a lovely family ritual.
Thank you for our fun family camping trips with the Rusconis and Cullies in the big tent.
Thank you for our family outings to the beach - Muizenberg, Boulders and St James and for buying us ice-cream. Memories don't come better.
Thank you for never lifting a hand against either Jo or me - you and dad were parents ahead of your time in that way.
Thank you for the beautiful poem you wrote me when you went into hospital. It made me cry and feel so loved.
Thank you for taking us on The Blue Train at Sea Point and for San Marco's ice-cream. It's where my love of ice cream started.
Thank you for letting us have pets and making them such a beloved part of the family - Tinkerbell, Cindy, Tina, Scamp, Meg, the hamsters and guineapigs all enriched my childhood immensely.
Thank you for letting the hamsters have hamster babies and for not resting till you'd found them all homes.
Thank you for letting me have a pet chameleon in the kitchen.
Thank you for all your support when I had my legs in plaster in Sub B - it can't have been easy!
Thank you for letting me have my ears pinned back without making a big thing out of it - it made such a difference to me.
Thank you for sending me to such a wonderful and nurturing school. I was very blessed to go to St Georges.
Thank you to you and dad for your decision to build a pool which became the source of countless priceless memories.
Thank you for letting me play with soft toys, even when I got older.
Thank you for our family holidays to Eight Bells, Mountain World and Sedgefield.
Thank you for getting us a table tennis table which brought so many hours of fun.
Thank you for lifting me to the holiday movies at Cavendish as a child. That's where my great love of movies began.
Thank you for all the chores you did to make our lives run so smoothly - the laundry, ironing, cooking, and clearing up, even when I took it for granted. I no longer do.
Thank you for helping to entice Gran and Gramps to live in South Africa - and for helping them to settle here when they did. It was such a blessing to have them here.
Thank you for putting up with Jo and I when we constantly bickered in our earlier years. I'm surprised you didn't go mad !
Thank you for wrapping my school books each new term.
Thank you for your support with my homework and especially with my school essays - it was a major contributor to my learning to write well.
Thank you for all the times you lifted me and the Rusconis to school and choir.
Thank you for supporting my rugby games and sports days on the side-lines even when it was raining and miserable.
Thank you for being proud of me on the sports field - even early on when I stood around in a confused daze and sucked my thumb!
Thank you for supporting all my school plays, often coming to every performance of the same play.
Thank you for helping out at the school tuck shop.
Thank you for being so friendly with all my teachers - it made them seem so much more approachable.
Thank you for never putting pressure on me at school and for your support and re-assurance when I got anxious before tests and exams.
Thank you for our holidays to Palmiet and Betties Bay with the Rusconis.
Thank you for our wonderful family holidays to the Drakensberg and Mauritius.
Thank you for letting us help with the washing up after dinner - it was a family time ritual I treasured.
Thank you for your good spelling genes and your writing genes.
Thank you for making sure I didn't have to play rugby in senior school - goodness knows what my back and neck would be like if I had continued playing.
Thank you for keeping all my old school reports and published poems and essays - now a cherished part of my blog.
Thank you for insisting we write thank you letters as kids - it is one of the things that awakened my sense of gratitude which now forms an important part of my philosophy to life.
Thank you for our wonderful family holiday on the farm in Ceres in Std 6.
Thank you for encouraging me to go to Graaf Reinet with Erla Nel - it was so good for my Afrikaans.
Thank you for your loving, tender care when I got horrible colds and my eyes streamed, even when I was a grouch.
Thank you for making Xmases so special and especially for the amazing food: gammon and turkey, mince pies, Xmas pudding and brandy butter, brandy soaked Xmas cake.
Thank you for your generosity at Easter - there was always such an abundance of chocolate eggs and bunnies.
Thank you for your glorious, mouth-watering cooking - kedgeree, toad in the hole, sausage ragu, steak and kidney pie, Sunday roasts (especially roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.), cauliflower cheese, creamed spinach, nourishing chicken soup and many. I always looked forward to the next meal.
Thank you for your wonderful desserts and baking - chocolate mousse, trifle, baked crunchies, rice pudding, bread &butter pudding, chocolate crispies, crème caramel, banana pudding (with walnuts!) and many more.
Thank you for our Saturday night treat of Top Deck or "Chocolate and Nut" to savour with a cup of coffee while we all watched TV.
Thank you for putting up with me raiding your well stocked cupboards to pilfer almonds and condensed milk.
Thank you for teaching me the joys of putting chocolate in the freezer - it's so much better that way!
Thank you for alerting me to the Alexander Technique which germinated many things in my life, including my spirituality and meditation.
Thank you for typing my school Latin projects and my university assignments while I dictated, often late at night, and for correcting my grammar as we went along.
Thank you for always encouraging me to do what I love, for never forcing me down a particular road.
Thank you for insisting I go for private dancing lessons when I nearly left ballroom dancing classes due to a lack of confidence. Being able to dance has been such a wonderful skill.
Thank you for all your help in setting up Willow Road when we got it, especially all the painting you and dad did.
Thank you for making Ally feel so comfortable and welcome and for the special relationship you developed with her. You meant the world to her.
Thank you for the amazing courage you showed when dad died.
Thank you for never forgetting birthdays or special occasions.
Thank you for your incredible support of Gran and Gramps towards the end of their lives - you were their rock.
Thank you for being such a wonderful grandmother to Matthew and Sam. There can't be a more loving, doting and generous granny than you.
Thank you for giving Ally and me the freedom to live away from South Africa, with never a hint of any guilt games or pressure to come back.
Thank you for all the times you sent us photos of the family and for keeping us constantly in touch through newsy emails before the days of Skype.
Thank you for typing out all my letters and post cards when I went travelling in 1997 and for putting it all into a journal - they are now a cherished part of my blog.
Thank you for your support with our wedding logistics and for helping towards it financially.
Thank you for all your support with packing up Willow Road when it was sold.
Thank you for all your support with our admin and tax while we were abroad.
Thank you for visiting us in London, Cambridge and Sydney and for the great times we all had together.
Thank you for our weekend together in Club Mykonos in 2005.
Thank you for running through the sprinklers with us during Xmas 2005 - such a priceless, fun family memory.
Thank you for joining us on a trip to New Zealand - some great memories, especially lazing in those hot pools on the beach.
Thank you for helping me to afford the house in Waverton. I can't begin to describe how happy I am there, in such a great place in such a lovely area next to such a beautiful park; able to have Mack. I count it as one of my greatest ever blessings in life.
Thank you for your constant support through the most difficult period of my life from 2008 to mid-2010. Your love sustained me.
Thank you for helping me financially to visit South Africa and for your amazing generosity while I'm here; for clothes, shoes, dentist visits and so much more.
Thank you for your amazing, loving hospitality when I've stayed over with you during my Cape Town visits and for all the wonderful meals at home and out.
Thank you for my Orange River trip in 2012 - it was so great to share an adventure like that with the family.
Thank you for calling me every night while I was alone in the Kruger - it was often the highlight of my day.
Thank you for encouraging me to get out more in Sydney - it incentivised me to join Meet Up and how wonderful that has been.
Thank you for trimming my hair and neck so nicely with the clippers.
Thank you for your encouragement with my photography and for all the comments you leave on my blog.
Thank you for sending me some great slow cooker recipes.
Thank you for providing an example of what it means to be a loyal friend by the way you sustain your friendships and keep in touch with Liz, Wendy, Colleen, Barbara, Jocelyn, Gill & Derry and Gill in England to name but a few.
Thank you for your generosity of spirit; that you're always ready, at the drop of a hat, to give of your time and energy to help someone in need.
Thank you that you're always there to talk to. Always there to listen. Always there to encourage. Always there to love me no matter what.
Thank you for always making me feel special and worthwhile.
Thank you for always making me feel good about myself, reminding me of my worthwhile qualities and abilities.
Thank you for always being there, no matter what and for being a great listener when I need an ear.
Thanks for your re-assurance when I am doubtful or uncertain.
Thank you for sometimes giving me a gentle push when I need it.
Thank you for your warmth and sense of fun.
Thank you for being the loving and generous soul you are.
Thank you for being you, exactly You.
Thank you for being the best mum I could ever ask for.

Thank you for all those things and for so much more. You are such a huge blessing to me, and to so many other people whose lives you touch. I was so fortunate to get you as my mum. Mums simply don't come any better. I love you so very much.

Love always and a day
Graeme

Email (Dec 2012)

Hi there mum

I'm back into regular meditation again and it's wonderful. I'm feeling much more relaxed and calm. I'm determined to keep it up!

One of the things I've been meditating on recently is all the experiences and things I am most grateful for from the past year. I created a list and was absolutely amazed how long and rich it was. My life really is full of blessings.

I just wanted you to know that you came right at the very top of all the blessings in my life that I am most grateful for.

I am so, so grateful for your unbelievable, incredible, extraordinary generosity this year, as always. My amazing trip to South Africa was thanks to you. My flight to get there and the Orange River trip. Shoes and clothes and malaria tablets and the dentist and my wonderful night in Jo burg with Jo. Not to mention, my speeding fine when you were in Sydney. It really blows my mind, I really can't express in words how much I appreciate it.

And then, there is your even greater generosity in love and caring. Just as one example, your phone calls to me every evening when I was alone in The Kruger meant the absolute world to me. I loved my time in the park as you know, but it was lonely at times, and anticipating your call and then chatting to you at 6 pm was often the greatest highlight of my day. It made me feel cherished and connected.
You are always there for me and always have been. I appreciate your love and your support and your generosity more than I can ever say. Mums simply don't come better than you.

I love you so very much.

G

Excerpt from a letter (September 2010)

Dearest mum. You have always been such a vital force in my life. Always there to talk to. Always ready to listen. Always ready to encourage. And always there to support me and love me no matter what. Please, please know that I do not take it for granted. I appreciate it more than I can ever express.

Birthday wishes (for mum's birthday, 2017)

Dear mum

Happy birthday! Happy 70 years young.

I feel so blessed to have you as my mum. You have always been such a vital force in my life. Always there to talk to. Always ready to listen. Always ready to encourage. And always there to support us and love us no matter what.

You've inspired me in so many ways ...
- your extraordinary, amazing, incredible generosity of spirit
- your readiness to help anyone in need
- your warm heartedness and natural friendliness
- your resilience in the tough times
- the way you value and nurture your friendships
- your common sense
- your delicious cooking
- your being the most adoring, doting Granny in the world
- your readiness to learn new computer tricks
- your enthusiasm for all you get involved in
- and so much more

What a journey life is - a winding path of ups and downs; joys, adventures and challenges. Thank you for the vital role you've played on my journey; for starting me on it, for teaching me to walk and run and climb, for encouraging and helping me on the uphills, for contributing to the joys and sharing in the wonders along the way. Thank you for being the best mum I could ever ask for. Thank you for being You.

Love
G

Mum's memories