My person

Born into a very Afrikaans family, somewhere in the middle but not really, the glue that has keeps the family together.  Timeless and elegant, she makes you feel comfortable in any setting and leaves you wanting to get to know her more.  Her youth forever captured in her mature exterior, never one for it to let it get the better of her.  She is witty, funny and always sees the best in everyone but don’t get on her bad side, she will make you regret ever crossing her. 

I honestly believe that God blessed her more than she can actually comprehend.  True love walked into her life at the tender age of 18, love at first sign.  For me to hear about other people’s chance meetings and how they fell in love is the best stories to listen to. She used to be a window dresser, she was beyond beautiful.  Snow white beautiful, that’s the only way I can explain it, hair as black as coal, lips the colour of a pink rose kissed by the sun and beautiful soul enchanting eyes.  He was from a very upper class English van der Merwe family studying to become an engineer, finished his schooling at Grey College in Bloemfontein, a very shy and introverted individual.

As fate would have it on that special day, many, many moons ago, she was asked to work at the till and he needed to make a purchase (fortunately for him).  The instant sparked that formed when they looked at one another still resounds in her mind every time the memory is recalled and her eyes sparkle from the memory. He was blown away, he experienced a feeling he never thought a man could feel, it made him vulnerable and unsure but the rush was unlike anything he ever had.  The days that followed he would drive past the shop she worked at, almost hiding behind the door panel to just catch a glimpse of her dressing a mannequin, blushing every time she may or may not have noticed him.

Her world was stopped in its tracks, he was so different to her, she was from a big family, they all shared, they were a unit, they lived for each other (they still do).  Love was plenty, if you measured their wealth by the love they had for one another, they would be the richest family in the world, money was of no object and yet they were perfectly content.  She lived for the thrills, she wanted to experience life for what was forbidden and in a moment of meeting this straight laced stranger she was captivated, she was draw to his pure soul and his gentle-manliness.

They married soon after and had 4 gorgeous children, 3 boys and 1 girl.  The years were hard but they stuck together, always seeing the good in one another and setting an example of love and commitment for their children and grandchildren.  I remember to this day the love they had and oh the fights, they used to have the most comical fights, you would laugh the afternoon away at them.   To this day she still thinks of him and has never moved on or wanted to for that matter, I guess when you find a love like that, it really is once in a lifetime.

When a man worships the mother of his children and thanks her for the life she provided for his family (after God obviously), it is more than evident on what is left behind long after he is gone.  She has been forever blessed with 11 grandchildren (sadly my sister passed away but she is still counted) and 4 greatgrandchildren, she is provided for and never had to work a day in her life, even now.  He still provides for her after he joined the angels in heaven.

So you see the point to all of this is that I want to one day experience life to the fullest like she has.  I sit in awe some days as her little squad can almost break down the house and yet she will tell you in no uncertain terms “Leave them they are playing”.  All the little ones are automatically drawn to her, I don’t know how they are but they just are, its almost as if they know she is our special person.  She is my home, she is not just my ouma, she is one of my best friends.  The stories I tell her, the levels of shock factor that comes with it and still she loves me, accepts me and is always there for me. 

My life is complete with her in it, she is my happy place, she loves me with the good and the bad.  I will forever thank the good Lord for giving her to us.

Love you to the moon and back.