Purpose

I'm at an age when many of my contempories are retiring, either from work or life. We've been "in business" for almost 28 years and so many of the faceless people I interact with over the 'phone are now choosing to retire or being forced to as their employer doesn't wany anyone over 62 or so on the books.
Attitudes differ. One lady, 64 years of age, is so excited at the prospect of staying at home after so many years in her job that she loves."I'm going to spend a month cleaning and fixing up my home (sheesh, it would take me much more than a month) and then she has a new project lined up.
The other, a gentleman, about 63 I believe, knows that next year he'll be "asked" to leave the job he's had for almost 30 years. He has no plans, no idea of the future and is already feeling depressed.
You have to have a purpose in life else why wake up in the morning. For some it's the freedom to travel, cook, learn a new craft, revamp the house, whatever but it's the very act of planning for the future, looking forward to something new that keeps us on an even keel.
I would chat to a fun old guy, he was about 70, always refered to Rowland as The Captain, his bosses felt they wanted to project a younger image so told him to leave. I spoke to him a few months later and it was as if his body had been taken over by misery, looking for company.
"What do you do with your days?" I asked
"Nothing" was the sad reply, "my wife leaves for work, I go to buy the newspaper and that's it!" So sad. Happily after a year or so he has a new lease on life, a purpose, whatever it may be.
What troubles me is that so many young school leavers seem to be the same. No idea what to do with their lives, no argument there, after all how can you know if you haven't tested the waters? but, no desire to find out. Like my neighbours son who so enjoyed his gap year doing absolutely nothing that he's decided to take another, a sort of  course in "layabout".
We had the TV on in the background yesterday afternoon while we worked, sorry if I'm about to offend anyone but after listening to half an hour of American Idol or something I felt sorry for the folk who have no purpose in life other than to watch "reality" TV. Really? There are great movies to be watched, travel programmes, cooking, animal life, history, the list goes on but you must be sad if your only purpose is to watch a few fat brides dis. their friends.
Please take each day as a gift and enjoy choosing how to spend it purposefully.

A Tale of Two Kitties

It was the best of times, it was the - sorry, wrong tale.
On 21 December,  a shoe box containing four kittens, barely five weeks old, was dumped in a driveway. No judgement. Our friend rang Rowland as she knew we were needing a cat, our home being without one for the first time in about 40 years. .
I was sent to choose. A foolish idea. Three boys and a girl, not being at all sexist I declared that I only wanted a female, boys can be naughty you know. She gave a tiny meeow and snuggled in when I lifted her out of the (copy paper ) box.
"O.K. we would love to give this sweet thing a good home, I'll be going now".
Oh but, "just look at that sweet face, such big eyes, so adorable"
Which is why we have two kittens, Alice and Tom and they are so gosh darned cute.
You don't just "get" a cat, well we don't anyway. Off to the vet we went for a check up, deworming and de fleaing, a basket, two free sample sets of kitten food, kitty litter and I was on my way.
For the first three days our new babies came to work with us, we made a tiny playroom for them and a discreet area to hold the sandbox. After eating I would pop each one into the box, scratch the paws through the sand to send the right message and so far we have two very well behaved children.
What a joy to watch, it's rather like having new babies but not nearly as much work. The timing is right, the (human) children are all grown up (and some), the grandchildren are wonderful but it's kinda nice to watch babies grow up once again.
It's an education in observation, Alice and Tom started out in one tiny area of the house, not locked in by us but restricted to what they were able to cope with at the time, slowly the horizons became bigger, currently they're at the stage where they bravely play outside in the garden but will still come charging inside to use the sandbox. Sweetypies.
We're not the only ones fascinated by these tiny bundles, Daisy and Zoe couldn't believe their eyes when two fluffy toys were dumped on the floor, Zoe ( a Yorkie) followed silently and still sneaks in to see if they're still around. Daisy (Spaniel) seems to have shed a couple of years and allows them to walk between her front legs, rubbing up as cats do. She's showing amazing restraint where the food bowls are concerned, cleaning our (the sadly deceased) Amber's bowl was one of her fun things to do. I'm pretty certain Merlin thinks the kittens are wind-up toys, boy is he in for a shock.
At food time I find the two of them sitting patiently in the empty spot where the food bowls should be, play time after eating and then its time to snuggle the humans, purr as loudly as possible and just relax.
Thanks to the person who felt she had to dump those babies, the other two kittens found homes the same day and we'll all be having our companions spayed (no, not the human ones) as soon as we can.
So here's to Alice and Tom, new companions for a new year, I hope they enjoy 2012 as much as we intend to and I hope that you and yours have an outstanding year, happy, healthy and if it should be so, wealthy and wise..

like a virgin

I do yoga at the gym, it's different. The setting is nice, a large, airy room, fake wooden floor, a wall covered in woodland paper, soft music. It's just............it's a gym.
Our teacher is lovely, soft spoken, limber and explains the positions well. She will start a pose at my level (-2) and then gradually add variations to suit the more agile. But there's no continuity, one week 12 eager yogis, next week 3 and somehow I doubt we'll hear Mr Patanjali's name in class because it is after all a gym, not a  retreat.
 As you know, I miss the old ways, perhaps Caroline was a once-off, but her classes weren't just about flexing the body, there was a whole lifestyle involved and a permanence brought about by seeing the same friendly faces each week.. Now I don't know if I'll be peering at a plumber's crack or a tramp-stamp, a full class or just me.
Perhaps I hanker too much after a gentler way. There's a wonderful studio in Gardens, unfortunately too far for me, perhaps one day I'll find something similar close by.
Until then it's yoga to the sounds of the Boot Camp Dance Class next door and the chemical smell of the swimming pool. The silver lining is our yoga teacher, I hope she stays around for a long time.
As an aside, when I joined the gym the young man who signed me up seemed so excited, I think I'm the oldest person he's had on his books. However, the chap who showed me around seemed determined to steer me away from physical activity into the swimming pool for water aerobics. Hmm, he just didn't understand when I tried to explain that I only swim in February.


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But there's more

and it's good news.
Yesterday, 21 November 2011, in The Hague, the International Children's Peace Prize 2011 was awarded to Michaela Mycroft, age 17, from Cape Town, South Africa.
Chaeli was born with Cerebral Palsy. At the age of 9, she, her sister and friends started a project to raise money to buy a motorized wheelchair for Chaeli. In just seven weeks they had raised enough money so Chaeli decided to help other disabled children and  The Chaeli Campaign was born. This (now) professional organization helps children with disabilities, supplying equipment and therapy and defending the rights and acceptance of disabled children.
Reading the blurb about this remarkable young woman I love the description
"where others see limitations, she sees possibilities; with her positive attitude, she is an inspiration to many"
To find out more about some of the ones who don't just sit around tut-tutting but get off their butts and do, Google KidsRights, (a Dutch organization) and be inspired.

Suffer the little children........

Four young children died this week, walking in blistering heat to find food. Ages, 2, 6, 7 and 9 years old. I expect the young one was the first to go.
You know how it is, you're carrying a little too much weight but it's okay, the diet starts on Monday. By lunch time Monday you're really feeling peckish but you steadfastly wait until 1pm to have your Provitas and skimmed milk. By Thursday, you've had enough of this tough regime and slip back into the old ways.
Just imagine, that strict regime would feel like absolute luxury to someone who is starving. They had only a small bowl of porridge, the night before, and set off to search for their mother, granny or food.
How does it feel to starve to death? Thankfully I doubt anyone reading this will ever know.
We cried, we were outraged but will we do anything about it, probably not. Oh, we make our teddy bears, Christmas gift boxes and make certain that our old clothes go to those we know of who need them. We feel rather good about it. We recycle and care for our planet and yes, I think we're helping but, we're only scratching the surface.
A Hong Kong business man has set up a fund to help the impoverished people of the Northern Province, we can all contribute and hopefully it's going to benefit the ones it's intended for but, they're not the only ones. Drive the back roads of the Free State and be saddened by the extreme poverty there. Once the small towns had railways and busy roads keeping them going but "progress" robbed them and they are dying. It's not just here in South Africa, the extremes of lifestyle exist the world over, the old saying "The rich get richer and the poor get poorer" is achingly true but when will THEY do something about it?
But wait, someone threw a racial slur during a soccer match. By god, heads must roll! We'll all jump onto the bandwagon and condemn the man who dared utter those words. You see, posturing and blustering by politicians and celebs. means they don't actually have to do anything. They are seen to be caring but really, are they? Our fat cats seem more intent on buying trendy purple suits and building mansions than caring for the plight of their own.OMG the 12th  wife of the king of Swaziland has been kicked out! Twelve wives!!
I wonder what the food bill is per month in that household, a tad more than the folk in the Northern Cape will see in ten years, assuming they don't starve to death first!
Please say a prayer for those four children and millions like them who have starved to death because those who CAN do something are too preoccupied with status to notice their plight.

Hush, hush

My favourite T.V. programme is NCIS. They can take the sinister and flavour it with good humour. I presume it's true that all the American letters dislike and distrust one another. NCIS, CIA, FBI, OMG, LOL. Sibling rivalry. But, it's not just on T.V. My private life is affected by the same wierd need for secrecy.
We all need passwords, digitags, code numbers to allow us access to our own.
I receive an email and lo and behold, I can't open it because my adobe hut apparently has cracks and I have to upgrade to a better, more swanky one.
A statement arrives in my "in box" but I don't know what it's about because you see I have to download something that sounds like an Italian ice cream, vanilla with chocolate stripes - stracaccia I think. Or perhaps it's my brand of coffee that doesn't work, almost every day I'm offered a new and improved version. Can't they get it right first time?
I miss out on warbling frogs and squirrels on tightropes because my windows can't see the language they're presented in - some housewife I am.
Furthermore, when I sign up for something, the computer has the cheek to tell me my user name is taken.
Yikes! all the stuff that was delivered by the post office, safely is apparently at risk now on the big, wide web.
It doesn't end there, it seems people are becoming almost paranoid about their privacy, we're not all celebs you know. I've tried to make contact with a possible cousin, for the family tree, on FaceBook. clearly she thinks I'm a stalker, grooming her for sinister things. Yes, teach the kids about stranger danger but really, about 12 family members on FB with the same (unusual) surname would have to be a pretty elaborate plot. Get over yourself Connecticut.
So when the page I'm on has a message telling me that my browser isn't compatible with gobbleygook etc. I feel just like Jethro Gibbs when the geeks talk IT.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

On my way to work today I sang along to Deva Premal, the Gayatri Mantra, in Sanskrit, I know all the words and it leaves me with a great feeling of peace. But I have no English translation.
I love to watch the Russian or Japanese pop music fans, they sing along Karaoke style to songs whose words they don't understand but they enjoy them nonetheless. I believe the ABBA ladies knew no English and were taught the songs phonetically, gosh all that and the numerous key changes, they were indeed talented.
We learn so much in life by example.
For example, a child sees a parent throw the KFC wrapper out of the car window and, because mom and dad know EVERYTHING, the child assumes this is the thing to do. Likewise, dad gives mum a clip around the ear and we have a budding spouse beater growing up.
Kelly (number 5) lost a tooth and along with said tooth she put a thank-you note into her slipper for the tooth fairy. How polite! and one hopes, learned from her parents.
Raising kids without a handbook is a huge responsibility, look around and clearly some parents lost the plot but, many did a wonderful job and have given us good, honest, hardworking citizens.
Lead by example, not just for your children but for all of us. If a politician dips his hand too deep into the honey jar, how many will follow suit? Your favourite celeb sets up shelters for quake victims, please, go with the flow.
Let's try to be the example our world needs, like the young man in Pay It Forward, set the ball rolling and watch things go well.