(Drafted end April 2025)
2025 started pretty calm.
Well, if you consider organising a Farmers Market single-handedly. Its easy really.
Not sure why anyone would lose sleep over this…
Last minute trip to KZN to catch up with our People. It was magical! Tried to bottle them all up to bring back with me. Failed. Will try again next time.
Got back to Limpopo just in time to roll into the School Prep mayhem. Stationery. Gulp. Last year this was so easy. Apparently, it goes in two-year cycles? Next year will obviously be a breeze. I was so disorganised, I honestly thought school started on Tuesday 14 January…right up until 7:37pm on Monday the 13th (uniforms all laid out & ready). The kids were delighted to find about the extra day. Its all about appreciating the little things in life…
Also, January is Birthday Month. Both kids. Parties were planned… then promptly cancelled in favour of “a bigger present instead.” One wanted gaming gear. The other? Another hamster.
Now if you’ve been following for a while, you’ll understand the particular trauma this has caused in our household. If not, please read Letter 17 – I still don’t have the emotional capacity to relive it.
In a flash of brilliance (…stupidity), I suggested we rather get a small, calm dog – something like a Yorkie.
So obviously we ended up with a Jack Russell.
My vet friend warned me. People sniggered. Some referenced other dogs mentioned using colourful language on this blog. But it was all we could find that wasn’t going to morph into a Great Dane-sized beast.
And so, Polo (aka Pawpaw) entered our lives.
Terrorist. Land Shark. Plain Trouble.
He arrived on Back to School Day. We were not ready. He chewed out of the box he arrived in and hasn’t stopped chewing since. He’s not house trained. He’s not cat-friendly. He is sleeping in our bed (update – he’s moved into his own bed, which he only chews occasionally now).
Every day he brings some new level of chaos and destruction.
But he also beings love, cuddles and laughs like nothing else. Andrew – Mr “Dogs should be outside and only tolerated because I love you” – is firmly wrapped around Pawpaw’s paw.
In short, he owns us.
So I was just settling into my stride, kids back at school, 2weeks til the next market, small amount of K2C Challenge admin to do, minor issue of a puppy under every foot. Totally manageable.
And then I heard that a project proposal we submitted has been provisionally accepted. Eek, how exciting! Terrifying! Especially since Andrew was kicking off his busiest WildSide season yet. But we’ll make it work. We always do (she says, clutching her coffee mug with white knuckles).
And then, because the universe clearly felt I had too much time on my hands, I got a job offer. A really great one. A job I’d actually shared with my network, thinking, “Wow, this is perfect for someone!” Never thought that someone might be… me.
Perfectly suited to me, our family, our chaos. Part-time, flexible hours, the most wonderful team that I already work with through the Farmers Market and K2C Challenge. I was (and still am) completely in awe of them.
I was also slightly concerned they hadn’t realised I have zero formal qualifications in the field. And haven’t had a boss that wasn’t me or Andrew in… oh… 14 years.
Cue: mild panic.
Two weeks to weigh up and decide. So obviously, I said yes straight away. Jumped straight in, heart-first, ready to learn on the fly. And then, on Day One, I encountered something called an IDP. Which, for the uninformed (i.e., me), stands for Individual Development Plan. I looked it up. This involves identifying personal and career goals, setting actionable targets, and approaching a mentor. So as a newly employed, mom of 2, previously career-self-employed 42year old, I did the only obvious thing and had an identity crisis.
It was brief.
It was necessary.
I think I have myself figured out for now.
Jokes, not really, but its on my To Do List.
In my 4th week of employment, I made a decision (totally logical at the time) that resulted in a rock smashing through the window of a parked Prada. The details are insignificant, other than the Angry Man (justifiably) phoned my employer in his angry state. He had calmed down a Lot by the time I got to the scene, but I was grateful to not by fired by the end of the day. Special shout-out to Toyota Hoedspruit for their incredible service in repairing the window so fast, allowing the car owners to continue on their trip without too much of a delay.
Otherwise, things have been fairly calm.
Haha, just kidding. Kids have been sick – one even hospitalised for days. I mean, we were all excited about the opening of the Hoedspruit Private Hospital, but I didn’t feel we needed to rush to test it out…
I left the one in hospital to take the other child to play rugby in Phalaborwa. Only to get knocked… not out, but hard enough to not stand up for an eternity. Those 3min22sec were some of the longest of my life. Everyone thinks they will be the cool parent at the sports match, until that happens. I was shaking and being held back from running onto the field while quietly pleading “When can I go to my child!!”.
Note to all rugby moms – always watch your children’s games with someone who will hold you back when necessary, but also help you hunt down anyone who harms your child!
Andrew has started his trail season. Cars have been getting facelifts, clutch lifts, batteries jumpstarted… When your day starts with googling “How to push start a car in reverse” you know. I will add that friends who fetch your children in their pyjamas and neighbours who jumpstart your Fortuner with their Citi Golf, really are Priceless.
The best part of knowing my car was starting again was that if the snake that was on my gate that morning reappears, I can pack up and evacuate immediately.
I’m probably forgetting a few things – chaos is like that. But hopefully this brings you a smile amid your own mayhem. Because I am learning that that’s how life goes – just foot-flat madness, snap decisions, blind optimism and a whole lot of winging it. Thankfully its also full of heroes who step in when the chips are down!
Anyway, I better get back to preparing for my Quarterly Performance Review tomorrow.
Gulp…
Sending love from the Lowveld xx
PS. Update: I passed with flying colours!!
PPS. Should I mention that it was a self-assessment??