The little things that count...

Have you been married to a drug addict? Someone who sold your and your children's belongings- yes, pretty much all of them... Someone who gets wired and beats you up because he became paranoid...and then tells you and everyone else the next day that you harmed yourself- even having an answer for the shoe bruises on your back...  Plucking up the courage to walk away only to be faced with other hard knocks. Have you then thought you would get your life back on track- moved into a little fixer-upper while he lived in his nice house in an upper class area, "living the life".

In May this year I went on a Spa getaway with my Pure Romance sisters.  It was not something I could easily afford at the time, but I worked hard at it and just made enough to pay for the weekend getaway.  Things were bad in my relationship (even though I refused to acknowledge it), and I was looking forward to a weekend away with the girls.

A “bucket list”, it is a list of all the goals you want to achieve, dreams you want to fulfill and life experiences you wish to experience before you... well.... kick the bucket. Life is short. You need to live it to the maximum.  You don't want to reach the end of your life and look back and sigh at what could've been. I'm an earth sign and like my feet firmly on the ground, but there's a few items on my "bucket list" that I just have to do...

Telephone etiquette.  Has it totally disappeared?  I pride myself on telephone etiquette at work.  It is my job.  I am a personal assistant and I answer the switchboard all day.  I always answer with a good tone, no matter what my mood.  Always “one moment please”, “going through”, or which ever comment is needed (not “ok” or “just wait” which are remarks I have often heard in our Rainbow Nation.

On 20 June 2014 , about 6 weeks after my entire apple cart had been upturned, I decided to start my 100 happy day challenge. I started it for myself, as it should be.  I decided I was not going to let somebody else dictate my future happiness and hold the upper hand in my life where he no longer belonged. I registered on the website www.100happydays.com and loaded my first picture to Facebook that evening at 8:56pm. The post read “ Day 1. Happy because I have 2 awesome children.  Today – my son who makes me laugh every day ”.  A beautiful, sensitive little boy who has a sense of humour like no other child.  Whether he means to make me laugh by cracking a joke or doing or saying something silly (like: “smelling the garlic makes my mouth run” - trying to explain that the aroma makes his mouth water), every day he’ll get a giggle from me.

I like food Let me re-phrase that – I looove food.  Roast dinners (potatoes, and butternut, veggies and gravy)...chicken-a-la-king … pasta … cheese sauce …more pasta.... sauce (I love sauce) ...and… and… and… I like good food – not fast food.  I like healthy food.  I like food (and chocolate...of course. Blush).  If there’s food – I eat it. 

A friend and I went shopping on the weekend.  We both decided we were in serious need of new underwear.  Having both previously been in long term relationships with the now very likely prospect of another man in our life, we realized how tatty we’d let our underwear become!  Funny how as we get more comfortable in a relationship, we start allowing ourselves to get more comfortable beneath our clothes.  Yes, comfort is key, but tatty is not. As women, we should take pride in what we wear.  I always find, if I feel sexy underneath my clothes, that sexiness transfers to the outside.  It doesn’t matter if anyone is going to see it or not, take pride in your under garments, even if only for yourself.  It could make the world of difference to how other people see you.