**I started this post in the beginning of January and yes, I am only finishing and posting it now. Rather late than never I say……**
So another year has come and gone. This year went by so quickly it’s scary. It seems like just yesterday it was the beginning of 2009 but in other ways it seems like so much has happened in just one year. So, just because I have been a bit scarce when it comes to blogging doesn’t mean that that there wasn’t stuff going on in our lives.
2009 started off with us a month into living in our new home. It has been fabulous to have the privacy and space that we didn’t have before
2009 also started off with Willie going into a new job. He started with this company in February and not only is it a fabulous company to work for with a lot of potential but also some added extras. One of those extras is that we were finally able to go onto medical aid. We are not really sick people but it is a great relief knowing that if anything happens to us we can go straight to hospital. Of course saying that, we both ended up getting sick quite often in the year. Hopefully 2010 will bring better health our way too.
The very first visit I had to the Dr was the diagnosis of the HS. He put me on medication for a year. I must admit it hasn’t been pleasant. The side effect of the medicine has had me a bit floored. I think the worst of it all was the skin dryness and sensitivity. I’ve had to stay out of the sun as I would burn within minutes. The dryness had me looking like a crocodile most of the time. Even though I slathered myself in lotion many times a day I was/am always flaky. I think the worst of it all was my lips and nose. My lips crack badly. At the moment I wake up with a bleeding lip every morning. Of course my joints haven’t gotten off lightly. My hips are the worst. It is actually ridiculous how I have to get into the car. On the positive side if the medication works it is worth every single minute of tiredness, aching, dryness and pain. It means that after 15 years I will be pain and lump free. What can be better than that?
In August Willie and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary. We were given accommodation vouchers for Christmas by a friend so we decided to use it for our anniversary. We decided to go to Cape Town for 4 days. It was our first holiday together and we were really looking forward to it. We decided to fly down and rent a car while there. We had to pay for our food at the accommodation up front. We had decided to invite Willie’s parents to come and stay at our house for the weekend that we were away. We knew my dad would be here but he pretty much does his own thing and they could all come and go as they pleased. They were here a few days before we left and everything was going so well. We had a really good time and enjoyed spending time with them. We left on the Friday and Willie’s parents took us to the airport. By the time we landed in Cape Town the sparks had started to fly at home. It became a he said she said situation and we were caught in the middle while supposedly being on holiday. By the next morning it had gotten so out of hand that we had to come back home. Of course we couldn’t change our existing flights so we had to buy new ones. So 24 hours after landing in Cape Town we were on a plane heading back home. By the time we landed Willie’s parents had left go back home. We ended up getting a taxi back home. When we got back they had left everything that we had given/bought them. Even the biltong. We don’t have much to give them for everything they have done for and given us. So the few times we can and do it is given with so much. It hurt me so much that that is how they wanted to hurt us. Needless to say I haven’t spoken to them since. So we spent 24 hours in Cape Town and spent our anniversary quietly at home – broke. It was awesome!!
For the December holidays we got the opportunity to be host parents for children from local children’s home. We had: Boy, 12, Girl, 11 and Boy, 9. We were very excited to have the opportunity to do this. It is such an important thing to do. So many of these children have no place to go. They have no one to spend time with and talk to. They don’t have the opportunity to feel like they belong. We very quickly realised that there is very little information about it. Only a hand full of people know that there is an opportunity available to do this. It wasn’t easy; it wasn’t the way we thought it was going to be. We ended having the children for a shorter period than expected. It was harder for us to go from zero kids to 3 preteens. They’ve had bad times and bad influences. They’ve had very little structure and crave so much. It didn’t work out for us but we wish it did. We wish that we had made a difference in their lives. We wish absolutely just the best for them. It is such an important opportunity so if you are interested in trying to make a difference please do. You can contact the social workers or the children homes and they will put you on the right track.
Then it was the end of 2009 and we’ve had a good year with lots to be thankful for. I am sure 2010 will hold many more surprises and good things. Hopefully fewer bad things. I hope to spend another year loving my husband. Another year trying to be a better, stronger person.
