Well it has been almost a year since my last post and I finally feel inspired to get cracking again.
For an entire year I posted daily blogs and was well rewarded for my efforts. But that year also took its toll on me. The need to write and edit, capture photos and layout an outline of my blog and then execute eventually became a grudging effort and I had lost my enthusiasm for my space in this world.
Almost a year has now gone by and maybe there could be a glimmer of renewal. It has been year well spent, spent on homeschooling my son who has a form of dyslexia, and spending all of our spare time exploring our land and climbing mountains.
Seth Climbing at the Africa Cup in December 2023 representing South Africa
Me climbing at a crag called Magnetic Wall in KwaZulu Natal when we travelled for the Climbing National Championships.
While my husband commits himself to his work as an Information Security Specialist, he has released me to do the things that fuel me. Lately that has been volunteering for our provincial Climbing Committee, helping to arrange climbing competitions, coaching my son with his climbing and taking weeklong adventures into the mountains of the Western Cape Province of South Africa.
We have a unique life here in South Africa. Things don't always go as planned. Our lights go off during loadhsedding (rolling blackouts), water infrastructure breaks down, roads have potholes that could take out a tyre. BUT we also have amazing people that are resilient and have grit. We have spectacular mountains, oceans and deserts all within 500kms. The sunrises from our east coast rival the sunsets on our west coast and we have road-tripped our country to see it all for ourselves.
I know that our life as a family is not normal. We don't have the ritual of getting up for work and school and only seeing each other in the evenings. Our life is less structured yet focussed on getting outside and doing hard things on a climbing wall.
I feel healthier and fitter than ever, although I can also feel the effects of getting older. Is 45 old? I still feel like I'm in my 30s. I'm probably stronger now. And I have also learnt how to handle stress in a much healthier way. I live life lightly and lean in to the fun and laughter far quicker than before.
My friends are GOOD friends. We encourage each other and build one another up. I think I was missing having real good friends and confused being surrounded by lots of people as having lots of friends, but that was a lie. My friends are dear to me and we share our lives together. Isn't that what friendship is supposed to be?
I thank God for this year and the changes it has brought. I pray that the next year will be fruitful and hope to see you all a little more regularly. Maybe I'll start with a blog a week. What do you think?