Announcements

The funny thing about making announcements - is that it looks a bit ridiculous when you don't follow through! Case in point...... back in February, I made the announcement that I was coming back to the blogging space.... only to find six months later I had written nothing, not a peep, nada ;-) so I thought I better improve upon this and here I am da-dah ;-) 

It reminds me of the spectacular announcement I made in another blog a few years ago, about re-meeting the skinny me. I remember writing it while I was eating a spinach salad for dinner and loving it! I was happy because weight was dropping off me - (I was practically starving myself - drinking shakes for the other two meals - but it was coming off!!) So about that announcement! Let's just say, Skinny is being kept nice an warm and a happy little camper out of our freezing winter folded up, deep down under many many many many layers ;-)

While we are at it. I've been working for the same company for 13 years - not straight 13 years mind you - I was made redundant after the first three. I then applied for a new position under the new structure, and was successful, but after six years of that new job I tapped out and made the announcement that I was resigning. I sent out the farewell email to the few friends I had in the organisation, with 'the' song - "You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me".... I know - it was epic! I had the big farewell - got the gifts and walked away..... And then, 8 months later, I walked back into another role which I applied for, and although in a different role, I've been back for 4 years. So much for that announcement right?

What about the announcement I seem to make every couple of years that I am doing my PhD. That one has even made it into my CV - isn't that funny ;-) Three little letters that has taken me over 15 years to actually come to pass - well lets say we are the closest I have actually been to making it happen.... but no announcement this time until I am ENROLLED ;-)

But that's ALL in the past.... and they haven't gone too bad right - but who am I kidding..... Not to be seen as a quitter - I have some new announcements to add to my 2016 list ;-) and thought I would lay them out here and see where we go....

Every year I hold a Pink Ribbon Breakfast in honour of my beautiful mother who passed away from breast cancer in 2007. Every year, I made a mental note, or rather a silent announcement that it will be my last year.... only to host another one that gets bigger every year. As a side note, every year I swear I am going to be smaller at the next one, but like my fundraising - I seem to be getting bigger as well ;-) This year after, possibly being carried away on the good vibrations of a successful event, I made an announcement that for my mum's 10th anniversary, I will holding a Pink Ribbon Ball. Oh. My. Life!

Photo Credit: Avi Stoddard

So there's that one. The next three are pretty big, the first is that I am going to present at an international conference (yet to be accepted but now its out there - lets see how that goes...) and the second and third are to to do with my beautiful baby boys who turn 21 next week. The next announcements to come up for me are their engagements & wedding dates! Yes, my 2-3 followers, I'm going to become a mother-in-law sooner rather than later.... Those of you who know how I feel about these two human beings will know how much they are growing up - and the next little bit of life is going to be one heck of an adventure!!

So I guess that's about the only announcements that I can handle at the moment. I am officially back in the blogging space now so that's one I have managed to make and keep in the same year - a great start.

Take care out there people. Be good to each other, and next time you announce anything, make sure it happens. And if it doesn't - then make sure you have a smile about it and try again later ;-)

Yours in friendship,

Mxo

The long Goodbye....

My friend Emma has already pre-empted what this blog is about so she is excluded from this - which will only leave you to read it.... so thanks for staying! Anyway, when I think about saying goodbye - yes Emma, you are right - the first thing I think about are my babies. They turn 18 this year and will be leaving for their missions shortly after their birthdays....soooo the long goodbye for me and them is this whole year....

Sometimes thinking about the end of things gets a bit sad.... I mean its going to be the end of two people depending on me, the end of thinking that "mum" will be able to sort it, the end of picking them up from school when people around me tell me "let them walk - or catch the bus", but above all else - its the end of me being the most important woman in their lives - well, maybe a few more years to go for that!! It has taken me almost 44 years to get to this point, and 18 years to happen. By this I mean that I have always been destined to have these two boys and when they were born, after coming out of unconciousness and finding out they were boys, I made a committment that I would do everything to get them on missions and become good fathers, husbands, and fine upstanding men of their communities.... a bit steep for a set of 4 week premature baby boys - but that's the commitment I made and I've been sticking to it ever since....

What I decided the other day as I could feel myself sinking in all this sadness of losing my sons, - was the thought that I don't want to spend the year mourning my 'empty nest' and wasting the time I had while it's still 'full'. I mean why be sorry and sad for them going when they are still here. Instead I am learning to enjoy my time with them, and as the months move on, already three have past - I pick them up from school because I love to see them and hear them moan and groan because I am late.... I have to love it because at this time next year - I will have no one to pick up from school - and the only one moaning will be me or Mr - and to each other ;-)

Tomorrow, I start a month of handing over a job that I had previously held for six years. If you know my story, you will know that I had this job, I burnt out, then recently had the opportunity to do it again while a replacement was found - and one has been found..... so this time I get to leave, healthy, excited for new adventures, and happy. If there was going to be any sadness, it would be about people.... The people I will miss the most are the women that hold the same position as myself in other rohe (regions) of our organisation..... so the long good bye was held in Christchurch a few weeks ago and it was awesome.... and although our lives will disconnect through work - they will remain connected through friendship and a once common experience. Thank you ladies xx

While I was in Christchurch, and now I can hear Emma's eyes rolling into the very back of her head ;-) - she knows me that well! I was physically moved by an art piece that I thought was beautiful. Based on Van Gogh's painting of a chair, an artist arranged on a corner of grass 180 white chairs in 18 rows of 10 to represent the 180 empty seats left by the people who died in the Christchurch earthquakes. The seats were large, small, wheelchairs, a high chair, office chairs, wooden, material, and cane. They were for little people, big people - and missing people. I thought of the long goodbyes these families are facing without their loved ones and it brings everything back into perspective....

So as I carry on my long goodbye to things along the way - before my boys leave - starting a new job whatever that is, I am more determined than ever to hold on to the most important thing I have at the moment and that is the present!! Really - living life as it goes and soaking up every loving minute of it and just going for it! Should make for a wonderful 2013. May you have a good one as well.

Yours in friendship,

Mxo

My favourite topic ;-)

Recently I was asked to talk about my babies and here is what I wrote:

Thank you for letting me talk about the loves of my life - my boys. They are the only children I have and are my legacy I leave to the universe.....

Although they drive me crazy most times, and I forget some times - I love them very much. I will be away from home when they get this so hopefully they will feel my love for them through you..

Aisake

Two things come to mind when I think of Aisake as a baby/child. First of all as a baby - when he cried he used to go the reddest colour - in pure frustration or something - so much so that I wanted to nickname him 'Flick' like the little red fire engine! However Mr M would not have a bar of it so Aisake was saved from that nickname! The second thing, is that as a child, Aisake used to sing all the time, and talk and talk and talk and sing. It was sooo lovely hearing him sing - it's some thing that I still do - just start singing a song out of the blue, and by golly, could he talk... to the point where I used to have to ask him to 'zip it' at the dinner table so we could have ONE quiet moment - or at least let his brother say something. However, now he's a big boy - and a teenager to boot - he doesn't sing or talk much anymore - and I miss hearing him!! I can't wait until the teenage years go away and my baby comes back.

Dimitri

The one thing about my son Dimitri as a child was his attachment to his bottle. He held on to that bottle - despite people trying to tell him to lose it, advising and counselling me about it - for ages. I used to work with psychologists and I asked a Dr one day what I should do because he was still hanging on his bottle approaching his 5th birthday. She suggested that I keep him back a year and start him at school when he was 6 - all because of a bottle.... I don't know what happened but soon after and maybe a month or so out from starting school, Dimitri just stopped hanging on to his bottle - just like that! I can't tell you how many times and people went on and on about Dimitri and his bottle (and a lot of it not very nice either....) - only for him to decide when he was good and ready when he was going to not need it anymore. He is a determined young man to this day and is very clear on what he wants in life.

Twins

Being a twin, has been something Aisake and Dimitri have to live with. And although they can be nasty to each other, call each other names etc, they share everything to a point. But as children - my lasting memories of them will be when we used to sit in the lounge, watching tv for example - out of all the seats, couches or whatever - they used to sit on the same single seat sofa and somehow arrange their legs so they could keep each other warm - it was the cutest thing!! Reminds me of when they were born - due to complications, the boys spend some time in the baby intensive care unit. First of all they split them apart but they wouldn't settle - so they put both the babies into one incubator - and as soon as they did that - they wrapped their arms around each other and settled. The nurses commented that they had never seen anything like it before...

I wish they would do that now, but I guess they are two grown up for that at the moment..... Having said that, at the end of this year/ beginning of 2014 as they go on their missions it will be the first time they will have been separated for such a long time, and although I am going to miss them both so much - I have a sneaking suspicion they will miss each other more.....

And even though my babies believe I am the strictest parent on the planet - I do it all in love and wouldn't do anything differently.

Yours in friendship, Mxo