15 Marbles

Cheesy title but it IS the first of May.

Is it just me or is this year really speeding by?

So far in 2019 –

I have survived 3.5 months of single parenting – so glad SP is home again.

Received and accepted two job offers – as hard as the choice was, I am finally settling down in the more challenging role.

Lost 9 kgs and 3 dress sizes!! Yay me!! Most excited about this one!

Next goal – To reach my zen state! Pic for proof 😁

How has your 2019 been so far? Do share.

Also if you reading this, please leave me a comment so I know you are here.

XX

Trish

Hello again,

So, I thought I’d update the blog for MsA’s Birthday, then let it gather the virtual cobwebs till July, and update again when it’s MsAn’s Birthday.

But, I have a new reader and I want to keep her hooked!! So, here I am talking/typing/talk-typing.

Do you know who the new reader is? It’s MsA. She was at home today, she had a sore tummy, she said. I sent her a link to her birthday post and she spent most of her day, reading old posts on my blog.

When I first started blogging, it was more of a virtual journal. Then as time went by, I hoped that one day I would share the blog with my girls and that they would read it and realise how much I love being their mum. I do hope they also realise how much they test my mettle and the fact that I still love them after all that they put me through , means they are super special.

MsA saved photos and some of her cute quips from the blog and dinner time conversation today was- ” mummy remember when I said this.. or when I did that..,”

I think all those years of blogging is worth it 🙂

By the way, the blog turned 12 too, this year! Isn’t it amazing?

I leave you with a picture very close to my heart.. I love the way the sun’s rays are filtering through the clouds. Every time I see this in the sky, it instantly fills me up with so much joy, hope and positivity. I hope this photo brings you the same positivity.

MsA turned 12 yesterday! Just like that , in the blink of an eye, my firstborn is 12.. it feels so strange to say that.

She has been waiting eagerly for this day. All her friends are 12 already and she is the baby of the group, hence the eagerness to catch up.

What can I say about this freshly minted 12 year old? Let’s see.. she looks like me, although she fails to see the resemblance. She acts and thinks like her father . She even smiles like him- a quiet closed lip smile.

She is as sassy as they come – to the point that some days I have to tell her to watch her attitude and almost want to give her up. And then there are days, when she floors me with how understanding she is.

She wants to excel in everything that she does and gets upset when she hasn’t given her 100%. But when she has put her heart and soul into something and she doesn’t get the desired results ( for example – applying for school leadership) , she just accepts the results in a very zen-like manner. When she didn’t make it into the leadership team, she just smiled and told me, ” I can always try again next year.” She also very graciously congratulated her competitor and rejoiced in his victory. I hope and pray that she remains this grounded for the rest of her life.

She is foodie and loves her food. When someone asked her how her birthday was – she told them , ” It was nice. We went out for a nice breakfast, later we went to get some bubble tea & cupcakes and now we are out for dinner” 😀See what I mean?

For her birthday, she wanted to shop at a local store catering to teens/pre-teens/young adults. Her excitement was so priceless when I told her she could pick whatever she liked.

Parenting a tween has its ups and downs.. some days are like dark clouds and others are like rainbows and sunshine. Sometimes we are at loggerheads ( SP says it’s like living with two teenagers) and at others we just have to look at each other to know what the other is thinking. She still has this uncanny way of reading my deepest thoughts. I don’t know how she does it.

I could go on and on about my MsA, but I’ll stop here with this wish & a little note for MsA-

Dear MsA,

I am so proud to be your mum..today and everyday! You are a strong, resilient young lady and I wish your strength only grows, as does your kindness and generosity.

You are slowly growing into the woman I knew you’d become – loving, fierce, and ready to tackle everything that life throws your way.

I love it how you are willing to learn new things and have the go-getter attitude.. keep it up, my Sunshine!

I hope that you had a lovely birthday and will have an even nicer year to follow.

Love, mum ❤️

I couldn’t think of an intelligent title for this post.. 🙂

Today morning, MsAn was invited to a play date. She has been well rested, these holidays but bored out of her head. My little social butterfly needs to see people. She went to bed very excited, last night. But, I saw her excitement fizzle out, when it was time to go.

She started by saying, she is tired and needed more rest. So, I got in bed with her and snuggled up under the blanket. We started chatting. And then she quietly said, ‘what if the other girls don’t like me?’ There it was, the thing that was bothering her the most. It was a play date with my friend’s daughter T and her friends, friends that MsAn had never met.

MsAn has always been happy in her own skin and her own quirks, never really worrying about what others thought of her. I have spoken about her liking superheroes and having a superhero party for her birthday, while other girls her age were having a princess or fairy party. She chose to dress up as Hermione for Book Day this year.

But, slowly she is getting more aware of others around her. Is my little spunk getting bogged down by peer pressure? It broke my heart that she is even thinking about all this . The urge to wrap her up in bubble wrap and tuck her away safely in the safest place, was very very strong , but I am her mum and had to be adult about it.

So, I put on the biggest smile and told MsAn, that I was going to be just 5 minutes away, and that if she wasn’t having fun, she could ask T’s mum to call me. She asked me , “what if you are busy?” I assured her that I would come and get her, no matter what I was doing at the time. “What if something goes wrong- like a fight or a hurt?” We came up with an action plan for that too.

Satisfied, she got changed and was ready to go make some new friends.

I messaged my friend to check on MsAn a couple of times and all was well. When I went to pick her up, she wanted to stay for some more time. She didn’t make any new friends but her friend S was there too and they played with each other. MsS & MsAn have been friends since kindergarten – they are like Tom & Jerry – friends one minute, rivals the next, but it made me happy to see them reach out to one another, in an unfamiliar environment.

In the end, she had a great day and I suppose that’s all that matters. 🙂

More later,

Xoxo

Trish