Reason # 2 House Rules & STORY TELLING
This is going to be quite a journey—which I intend to keep super short at times, because this is not the book YET… ha ha!
(As if my life is really interesting enough to write a novel about.)
Still, life is always a precious gift, and I do have quite a few stories to tell...
Once, when I asked my children to give a one-sentence summary of how they see me, they said:
"Jy is 'n storieverteller, Pappa!"
Well, I can’t fault them on that one, because storytelling is an integral part of my life. Maybe it started back when I was a teenager, and the favourite storyteller to my siblings’ young kids. The briefing was always the same and always short:
"Ons gee vir jou 'n sin, en dan moet jy die res vertel..."
And so, many a story began.
Funnily enough (or sadly even) , I told fewer stories to my own kids. Instead, I played make-believe with them. Once I even built a whole Fairytale storyboard—complete with a set—for a royal wedding for one of Minette’s (my daughter) fairy princesses. (Koets en al!!!) I’m not even sure if she still remembers it…(And of course it had to be a wedding - no surprises there)
For Jeandre (my son), I did tell a story in the format of a series called the "Avonture van Basjan" it was about a young boy, Sebastian, travelling through Africa and unknown Jungles. If memory services right we also used the introduction sentence method (smile)
But I am sure they will remember the costumes I made for them from discarded pieces of cardboard—Pokémon-type outfits. Those were exquisite, if I may say so myself!
We certainly had endless hours of joy. I also remember the joy we all had when I turned a simple blanket into a sledge of sorts, pulling them across wooden floors! Oh the laughter, with both of them clinging on for dear life - and what a Fabolous workout it has been. Nog Nog!!! was the endless request screamed out interspersed with burst of laughter!
I think it all stems from when I was a child and could "tower enige kostuum op" using the plastic wrap that came around groceries from our "plaaswinkel". It was such a joy to accompany Dad to the local station to collect new stock—ordered from Reps in the city and delivered by train to our little rural town in the North West Cape (Vredendal). It was a bonus when one of the big boxes was wrapped in meters of plastic—so much material to spark imagination and yards of it to work with! Hours of mesmerized joy followed!
I suppose the fact that Ma and my sisters were always designing and sewing dresses rubbed off on me—and so I had my own “designer shop”… mine was just for magnificent fairytale characters.
I wasn’t really allowed to veer into becoming a dress designer (far to many homophobic fears doing the rounds), though I will still one day tell the story of a few dresses I did design for my sister Annele’s doll.
But that’s a tale for another day. What I was allowed to do was to dream and conjure up a magical world of my own.
So ja—“storieverteller” it is!
Come to think of it, even as a lecturer, I always find my audience far more engaged when I begin with a good story that relates to the topic at hand.
Speaking of lectures—like any good lecture, it’s always helpful to have a solid set of house rules.
So that brings us to some house rules for this blog.
I’m going to capture a few things here—mostly for my own sake: to remember, reflect, and rejoice. This is not to impress anyone, but rather to show gratitude. You’re only meant to be here if you want to revisit and celebrate 60 special things in my life.
The point is mainly for me to reflect and give thanks for the many, many blessings I’ve received—and still receive—every day. And by the way, I don’t think I’m more special or more blessed than anyone else. On the contrary, my life has had some very dark turns. But I’ve always held on to hope and kept on dreaming. I believe we all need to make more time to celebrate what life gives us.
THE PARTY!
My kids want to throw a big party to celebrate my turning 60. But knowing myself, I suspect it’ll be a more scaled-down affair than they anticipate. (I still remember how my friend Albert and I wanted to throw a BIG party when we turned 50! And now, just like that, another decade has passed, and we still haven’t had that party. Life indeed waits for no one. But what we can do is celebrate every day.)
Which once again brings me to the reason for this blog: to celebrate my life by revisiting 60 special occasions or moments—instead of that party - or let's at least say, additional to the party this time!!
As they say, there really is only one moment—and that moment is now.
So, here we go - seatbelts fastened please!
See you tomorrow.
20 May 2025
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