It’s my Birthday!

Ian - Baby

It’s my birthday tomorrow (4th October) and I will be 41. I think I’m in denial about that. Actually, I know I’m in denial. I don’t really want to get old(er) but that’s just the way it is.  Recently it’s been great however to reminisce what it was like to be young.  My Mom has been scanning some old (some very old) slides and sending them to me via email.  I have included a few of them in this blog for you to enjoy as well.  You can refrain from leaving sarcastic comments and poking fun at me.    I’ve heard it all already!  Yes I know I had lots of hair then!  Perhaps I’m biased but personally I think I was the most gorgeous, handsome, sweetest looking, perfect child on the face of the planet?  Don’t you agree? (perhaps not?)

I have refrained from adjusting these photographs that she has emailed me and posted them just as is.  I think they possess a certain charm as they are; old, scratched and discoloured.  Kind of like how I feel!

Wendy and I have taken lots of photographs of our children already but honestly we probably don’t have enough.  I don’t want to spend my life with a camera and capture every moment but sometimes weeks or months go by and I realised I haven’t taken a photograph of them – and that’s a shame really.  I don’t believe you can ever have enough photo’s of your children.  They grow up so quickly it’s truly unbelievable.  Michelle especially, she is nearly 5 now and developing into a real little lady.  Often she will regress into a little baby that just wants to be held and loved and then at times she will behave so adult-like it scares me.

Beverly and Ian - Sliding

I can’t believe how quickly my life has gone by although I must admit that I have been blessed in so many ways.  I have a wonderful wife who loves me very much and we have two very special children that make us laugh, smile, cry, hope and despair on a daily basis.  I really had a wonderful childhood with parents that always tried to do the best for my sister and I and for that I am truly grateful.  They really did set me up in life, providing me with key opportunties early on that has helped establish who and what I am.  They possibly didn’t understand the full ramifications of some of their choices when they were bringing me up (do we ever?), but amazingly so many of those choices were the right ones.  My Mom and Dad also instilled a great value system in me which I still rely on today to make the right decisions in life on a daily basis.

Beverly and Ian

I pity my children in many ways, as I remember a childhood that was fairly care-free.  I remember playing in the street.  I remember walking myself to junior school and not having to worry about the cruelty that seems to live in our world now (although I was secretly a little scared of the Wolf that ‘may’ have lived in the park that I used to walk (run) through).  I remember spending time with my grand-mother and plonking out tunes on her organ.  I know it used to bring a tear to her eye if I haltingly played out ‘Auld Lang Syne’.  I remember taking my skateboard to the local shopping-centre on a Sunday by myself and skate up and down with some friends.  Riding bikes.  Playing cricket in the garden.  Sailing on Midmar dam with my Dad.  Playing soldiers with my friend Stuart.  Dreaming of becoming an archelogist and going to Egypt one day to explore the great pyramids (I would still like to do that one day).  Sliding up and down our steep banks on the bluff with our cardboard boxes.  Going to the Drive-In with my Mom and Dad and falling asleep in the back after struggling to hear what was going on through those small tinny speakers you used to hang on your windows.  Wonderful hikes in the Drakensberg taking in those amazing sights and breathtaking scenery.  Playing frisbee, snooker, computer games.  The list goes on, but there are really many good memories from my childhood.  Thanks Mom and Dad for affording me all those opportunities.

Ian and Koko

The last ten years of my life have been amazing spending it with my wonderful wife Wendy.  It’s a blessing to be with someone that cares about you so much and although the daily grind of living can sometimes get in the way deep down we both know that we have something special together.  Watching my girls grow up is an amazing experience and it certainly is an incentive to make sure that I’m still around for a long time to see them grow up into the little adults that I can already witness inside occassionaly. Now and again they offer me fleeting glimpses of who they might be or what they might become and my throat will close up and my eyes may become a litte damp.

Ian and Dad (breaks foot)

So here’s to another birthday – roll on 41!  Yes I’m older; some parts of the body don’t work as well as they used to: eyes and ears in particular.  But I’m very grateful for the gifts that I have received so far from all that have touched my life and I’m looking forward to what the next ten years holds.  Thanks for sharing your part of it with me.