Excerpt from a mothers CV

While raising three boys I have learnt to cook and bake, figured out how to disguise certain vegetables, have read a gazillion 'how to ..' books, fine tuned my social skills standing next to a sports field, realized that to have an organized nest I need to double up on multi tasking, went through all the grades 3 times over, learnt new words like ‘gnarly’ and ‘stoked’. I donned the “Florence Nightingale’ uniform on more occasions than I wanted to, attended/joined/ PTA meetings and took notes, accumulated handfuls of speeding fines getting to 3 different venues to support each child’s extra-curricular activities, fixed punctures on bicycles, called a whole lot of ‘time-outs’ over the years between the 3 of them, bought a lot of elastoplast, and taken many photo’s to document all the highs and lows. I admired their art, gave reviews on their ‘breakfasts in bed’, clapped and cheered the loudest at school plays, taught them to say please and thank you, to be true to themselves, to do things right. I have laughed and cried, praised and moaned with them; smiled and nagged at them; I’ve been proud, and then, been even prouder.   

Now they are all grown men, 2 with little families of their own. I’m still cooking and baking, still fine tuning my social skills but now on the internet, and learning new words like ‘links’ and ‘feeds’. The ‘how to’ books have been replaced by Google, I still get speeding fines on the way to different shopping centre’s, and as always I love my children.

Based on the above, this is what you now know about me:

·         I don't have the recipe to make daughters

·         I can cook and bake, with the added talent of being able to camouflage certain veggies

·         Researcher

·         Socially acceptable

·         Love sports, especially those that I can stand and chat on the side line

·         Obsessive compulsive organized lunatic

·         I have self-studied

·         Linguist and can use a dictionary

·         Can be a nurse and not harm you in many ways, quite deft when it comes to elastoplasts especially the cute picture ones

·         I have a tendency to speeding

·         I know how to ‘taxi’ therefore

o   I can use navigational equipment

·         ‘Manly’ equipment doesn’t faze me

·         I’m adept at being a referee

·         I can aim and shoot (camera that is, but don’t try me as I might be having a bad day and I own a weapon)

·         Appreciate art

·         Food critic

·         Life coach

·         Emotional woman

·         I have laughter lines and a couple of worry ones too

Can I at least get some response?

Loving all 29 of them!

I love celebrating my birthday. I even love the build up to it, counting the days, the anticipation of what the day holds for me. Everyone and anyone who crosses my path prior to my birthday gets informed in one way or another that I am having a birthday soon. For me, celebrating my birthday is all about the great gift of life that was given to me; that by God's Grace I was born.

So, every now and again, you will hear how much time before my birthday. However, today someone very special and dear to me celebrates his, and celebrating this birthday is even better than celebrating my own. Just after nine o'clock on a Sunday morning, 29 years ago, my first-born, shortly after taking his first breath, was placed in my arms. Just as many mothers before me, and many mothers still to come will tell you, nothing can compare with that moment.

On that cold morning, in my arms I held the things to come. Many diaper changes and many more feeding times, bath times, grazed knees and bruises; lost teeth and school clothes, height charts, certificates, progress reports and medals; sport seasons, sport equipment and many sport days; friends, girlfriends, hamsters and bicycles; and much, much more!

I held future laughter and tears, joy and sadness, victories and defeats, milestones and possibilities. Nestled in my arms was a 4.1kg baby boy with 'still a lot of awesomeness to come, still to bring great pride and joy, still to bring a lot of love'.

As I sit here vividly remembering that day, I can't help wondering who gave you permission to grow up so quick. (It was probably me when I wished the 'teenage phase' would pass). Today, physically you are much taller than 55cm and you weigh a bit more than then, so as everyday, but especially today, I can only hold ALL of you in my heart; with my arms I can hug and hold you close; in my voice and in my eyes you will hear and see my love for you. Brendon, you are everything and much more than I held in that nursing home way back then.

 May this day be as special to you as what it is to me, may your year be filled with love as you have filled mine, and may you always know how special and loved you are.