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Married to Nick for 13 years, with 2 children; Sabrina - 12 and Dominic - 11. I am a girlfriend through and through in that I love girly things and anything that celebrates the essence of being a woman. I love vintage, shabby chic, the country and try my best to do my bit for the environment. SO yes...we have 3 bins in our house and try our best to recycle! I believe that with everything in life, the closer we stick to nature, the better off we'll be. I would love to have a balance in life, but have learnt that balance is not always possible, so strive for significance instead, in the hopes that that will be just as meaningful, and the rest will hopefully follow.

Monday, October 20, 2008

A happy anniversary "present"....

To be blessed with a romantic husband truly is a wonderful, wonderful thing. And so it was, that on the weekend of our eleventh anniversary, he surprised me with a weekend away, and we found ourselves on the long and windy road, to who knows where.....because at that stage, I sure as hell didn't!!

We finally arrived at the Ghost Mountain Inn, in Mkuze, which was just so perfect - not too stiff and formal, but classy enough to give off the atmosphere and ambiance that reminded you that it was a "special occassion", kind of weekend - and if that didn't do it, the way we were treated sure did! The staff all went out of their way to spoil us. We had a great time, and came back feeling it was everything we could have wished for, AND MORE, from an anniversary celebration.
I got so much out of this weekend, but the one thing in particular that did stand out for me, was that this time and opportunity we were blessed with, gave us the chance to 'regroup' as it were, as a couple. To just be us. To ponder on how far we've come, and where we want to go, and why, which is such a critical step in realigning and reaffirming that you're on the same page as a couple.
In life, it's just so rare that we can, not only seize these opportunities, but enjoy them to the full extent we should/want to, because we're so bogged down with 'everyday life'. And boy can I relate to that! Fortunately for me, my business (for which I am very grateful!) requires that I spend a significant amount of time with the motivational speakers/keynote speakers I represent, and I was truly blown away this week, when I attended a presentation by Professor Wayne Derman, who has travelled with the last 2 prior SA Olympic teams, as well as this years Paralympians. I always ask myself what I have learnt from a presentation when i crit it, and what Wayne shared with me this week, is that our incredible team of paralympians are an amazing group of people, who have taught him many lessons, all of which are superceeded by one vital principle....to live in the moment, and BE PRESENT, because after all, it's not called the 'present' for nothing....what a pearl!

I've touched on 'the present' before in one of my posts, but spending time with Wayne this week, for whom I have huge respect and admiration, reminded me that this is a purpose I really need to take seriously!...along with declining plastic bags of course girlfriend's! LOL! In Wayne's words, ...."If you're living in the present, it means dedicating yourself fully to the task at hand, at this precise moment in time, which means you are 'in the zone', 'fully engaged' and ensures that more often than not, you'll get the best out of the experience". Nick and I have made a commitment to try our best to live by this principle in the knowledge that, if we take care of the present and give it our all, the rest will take care of itself and we'll be shown the way.
So going back to our weekend, we savoured every moment. And on Nick's insistence we had great fun dishing up for one another, and choosing each others food...sounds silly, but TRUST ME, the man chose things I would NOT HAVE, so we tried new things!!! In hindsight I do wish I had been forewarned to take camo' pants, in place of the retro green swing skirt and patent leather black handbag (with matching belt!! - eek!!) that an elephant could and DID see coming from KILOMETRES away.....but hey, what's a girlfriend to do?? I did however apologise sheepishly to all the appropriately dressed tourists, who looked just like "Livingstone", and stared at me in amazement, I know, thinking..."what the HELL was she thinking!!"...sigh...i could even have scratched out my leopard print bra straps..sigh...which would have worked so well....

6 comments:

  1. Congratulations on your 11th anniversary. In this day and age that is a wonderful achievement and I wish you both many more happy ones together.

    I agree with what you say to life for the present - be fully involved and the future will follow its own route.

    I can just picture you in your outfit while everyone is dressed in neutral colours - ha ha ha ha. But I know the feeling when you are taken somewhere and you don't know where you are going. You just don't know what to pack!!!! The absolute dilemma.

    Glad you both had a wonderful time together - sometimes we just need that to recharge.

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  2. Gf...sniff....seeing pics of you and Nick was a very bitter sweet moment...sniff...we miss you all so much and it is lovely to see your faces, but reminds us how much we miss seeing them...sniff. Glad you had such a successful weekend, 11 years in no small number CONGRATULATIONS!

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  3. Happy Anniversary!!! 11 years is wow!!! Cheers to the next 40 or so ...

    You had me in hysterics over the D & G bag in the middle of the bush - camo stuff can be verrry stylish, girlfriend - try Lizzy for some yummy girly goodies in camo ...

    Love, Tracy

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  4. P.S. Does pink camo count???

    Love, Tracy

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  5. oh how fantastic - thrilled you both had some quality time - without any distractions - the best therapy for any marriage is time alone - seeing your photos made me get a HUGE lump in my throat as we miss you so so so so much.happy happy anniversary to you both - may you have many more happy heathy years ahead.

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  6. Wow, 11 years together, what a very special achievement in todays world. Wishing you many more 11-year celebrations. It looks like you really had a a fantastic breakaway to recharge those batteries ... see the shade of green glowing here from Gauteng's side. Warm regards.
    PS: Hope to see you at my 6 December 08 Makaranga Garden Lodge (Kloof, Durban) Scrapaganza. Let me know if you would like more details.

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