….that don’t include marriage, children or family.
As I look back on my life, thus far, it seems it has neatly been divided into decades.
0-10 – I grew up
11-20 – I was educated
21-30 – Married and had 2 children
31-40 – Raising the children and selling advertising for Radio CCFm.
41-50 – Educating the children, looking after Mike’s Mom and doing the breakfast show on Radio CCFm
50+ – Enjoying Mike’s retirement and working in teacher recruitment – Edvectus.com
Over these 5 decades, there have been ups and downs – things that did not go my way and other things that have worked out. I jotted down 10 things that have enhanced my life but that don’t include getting married, having children and my family relationships.
1. Moved to Cape Town – Back in my teens, there were choices to be made about leaving the country of my birth – Zimbabwe – and finding another country to call my own. South Africa was closest, Cape Town most beautiful. The door opened for me to do my nurse’s training and so to Cape Town I came – all alone – 18 years old – not a single family member in the city. It was brave. God opened the door – no, He threw it wide open and I happily marched through it. Living in Cape Town has absolutely enhanced my life.
2. Never given up/known when to give up – there were times during my life that I could have given up – during my studies and during my working career come to mind. I hung in there. That was good. But on the converse, there were ventures I started that just were ridiculous – they were just not me – I gave them up – they were not failures – they just were not that enjoyable and I was doing them because it was sort of expected of me. I grew from persevering and from knowing when to lay something down.
3. Failed and got up again. There were times that I failed – failed tests – failed my driver’s licence – failed relationships – failed presenting on radio. I did right by getting up and again and moving forward. The failure followed by success enhanced my life.
4. My life has been enhanced by being brave and done something I never thought I would do. I remember so very well in the infant days of Radio CCFm when my main job was data capturer – I remember seeing the first presenter in the studio and being overwhelmed with admiration for her being so very brave to do that job. Present on the radio. My first attempt was hideous. I remember being pushed into the studio late one evening and told to just mention that programming would commence in 15 minutes. I took no notes with me and I stuttered and stumbled through a few unarticulate sentences and garnered dark looks from the person who pushed me in! I never thought I would ever be brave enough to go back. But I did – and when I did, it was extremely well prepared.
5. Stayed positive. Life will get hard. Things will be difficult, but attitude determines happiness – it often is a learning process. Learning to be content. Staying positive amidst difficult circumstances is absolutely one of the things that has enhanced my life.
6. Travelled. Whenever I have travelled – wherever I have travelled, I have learned about people and places and my life has been richer for it.
7. Owned a cat. Pets are so therapeutic. They come with their quirks, with need for care and vet’s bills, but they are worth it. I’m so glad I have a cat and have not been put off by the dependency they have on me.
8. Taken care of myself. I learned at a relatively young age the importance of using a heavy duty sunblock to combat the harsh dangers of the sun. I block out every day with a 40 to 50 sun protection factor – come rain or shine, come winter or summer, that’s my basic moisturiser. Excessive exposure to the sun is the biggest contributor to ageing and of course skin cancer. I’m hoping to age with a few less lines and avoid skin cancer altogether. I’m always looking for the balance in exercise and eating. While I have the genetic make up of my Mother, who was not skinny, I aim at eating healthily, keeping fit, blocking out and keeping active.
9. Made friends. It took me a long time to make friends with a group of like-minded women. Wow, has that been wonderful. We have laughed and cried and prayed. We have eaten cake and sushi and walked and learned. It’s been a wonderful blessing in my life.
10. Faith in God. My faith journey began in 1979 when I was 14 years old. I am grateful to be blessed with faith to know that God loves me. I believe what the Bible says. It makes my life so much easier knowing that God is in heaven and He sees all the rough stuff that goes on on earth. I don’t need to fret over it. I can trust Him. This is the foundation of all that has enhanced my life. Everything else falls into place when I put my faith in God alone.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.
These are the days!
Keep the smile going.
God bless you!
In His Grip,
Helga xx 🙂