There’s just so much going on right now that life is a little crazy for us. But it’s mostly good crazy. In fact, there are three big reasons for us to break out your fine china, crack open the best wines ( although you should do that in any case) and pop all the confetti. (And I actually would, except the last time I popped it, it broke my friend’s vacuum cleaner….so maybe I’ll dial it down a notch.)
But before I get lost in the how-tos of celebrations, let me calm down and track it back a bit for you… There are three main reasons I’m hitching up my skirt and kicking off my heels for life right now:
First up….Dragons! Our dragon party to be more specific. Readers of the this blog would know that we had been planning a dragons and viking partyfor Morgan –Lee…but then decided to cut it back a bit and just give her a “small” family party.(See that small family party here.) Especially since we were planning to celebrate it at Disney World instead…however, we all know how that ended…So as part of my make –it strategy that I’ve put on myself, we decided to go back to plan A and give the girl her party. Surrrrre, it was supposed to happen sometime back already – like soon after we landed on home soil again- but life has been non-stop bustling, and bursting at the seams for us, that it only just happened this past weekend.
And what a blast it was for the kids! And more importantly Morgy really loved it. It was a super belated celebration of the sweetest little Viking there ever was, and aimed at things she loves doing. Cannot wait to share those pix with you!!!
Secondly, guys..you don’t know how long I’ve been wanting to shout this out from the tops of this little blog mountain already….But now that I got the gagging order removed, it is with the greatest of pleasures that I can share with you that I am going to be an aunt…AGAIN!!!
That takes my mother’s grandkid count all the way to 14!!!Four-freaking-teen!!..And I can tell you this, I’ve become an aunty so many times over and over again, but it just never gets old. There is great anticipation throughout our family for what the new little boy (yes another boy for them) will bring. Aside from the extraordinary joy and love that all babies bring with them, of course. Ahhhh, all that baby deliciousness that I’m so addicted to…
Just think, this little guy is going to be a BIG brother…
Im sure he’ll do very well, especially under the watchful eye of his big sister.
I Can.Not. Wait!!!!
And then..the latest and greatest reason for celebrating…(can I have a drum roll please?)…Its this:
My sister and mother have made the long trek from the States and landed back home this past Saturday. Hence us, shovelling the last bit of cupcakes into our mouths, throwing off our Viking helmets and racing to the airport come Saturday night.
It’s so good to have our mother back home – I missed her so, but also so glad she made the trip. A trip she never had to do alone in the past. And I know …I can only imagine that not having my dad with this time may have brought a little twinge to it. But I also have no doubt that she is also so glad she did it anyway. I know her grandkids there, are the richer for it – as is she.
As for my sister, she’s only here for a few days, and we all want a piece of her. So we’re going to try and soak up as much time with her as possible, before she jets back home for an epic and much anticipated road trip with her youngest daughter!
It’ll probably fly just as quickly as our trip to her, but we’ll take..with both hands, yes please!!
Also, this emotional high..this triple treat we’re experiencing right now is truly welcomed, especially after our most recent downers. We as a family have experienced such acute sadness recently that I was not prepared to share it in this public space…But, as with all lows and losses in life, despite the hurt and pain it brings, it also provides context in life, and a time for beautiful reflections and opportunities for fresh perspectives. Of course, none can bring this quite like death can… And so it was about three weeks ago that we had learnt about the untimely death of our dear cousin.
It was a shock to us all, a reminder of the frailty and limited time we have on this earth to do good and make good. We did the typical thing where we reflected on life with her in our lives…and uniformly everyone reflected fun times, exquisite cooking and how to suck the marrow out of life, even when given little to work with.
If it wasn’t for her, as my one brother pointed out, we probably wouldn’t have seen as much of the Western Cape as we did or discovered as many local dives. I probably would not have learnt how much fun it is to chase the sunset and then find the perfect spot to enjoy sunrise, or at least from not such a young age. Even as a smally, she drove me to beautiful spots so that I could whip out my wimpy little wind up camera and scratch that itch of photography. And I probably would not have experienced the joy there was in working with and entertaining special needs children through the One-to-one Rotary Club annual events, if it wasn’t for her encouragement and active membership.
There was just so much about enjoying life that was a part of her, that if you ever shared some of her life with her…even a little bit, you would have inevitably taken some of that hunger for life with you. Not to say she didn’t live a troubled life or was without her darker side or foibles – we all have that.
But it was a sad and sharp reminder to us all to go out there enjoy your loved ones in the here and now. So for the next few days that is exactly what I will be doing!
Go out and celebrate…find a reason to! X
Love the huge amount of happy in this post….