The welcoming smell of soup on coming home from school on a winters afternoon.
The cry of “don’t sit in the winter sun” (a remaining mystery!)
Wet “lappies” around sore throats, heaped tablespoons of herbs covered in molasses to
“keep you regular”, garlic in your ears for sore throats and cloves in your mouth for tooth ache.
Tea with “Auntie Anderson” while slicing fresh beans (with new razor blade “stolen” from Dad) or shelling peas
-”don’t eat them raw- you will get worms” for our supper“
Don’t touch that cake its for……. (a relative, a neighbour, the mother of one of my friends, a friend of a friend
who needed a cake-the absolute cure-all )
Walks to Rhodes Memorial to collect pine-cones
and then having to bash them with a massive stone in order to make “nutty
toffee”- “ no eating , I’m watching you “-what a fitting place for her
to rest watching over all!
Coming home and finding her pinned under the
massive washing machine when she decided to repair it herself……..?!
Endless pricking of the white part of the
watermelon to make Konfyt, chicken wishbones hanging in the kitchen to dry for
“a wedding”
Ginger beer floats, apple pie, banana loaf,
sausage stew, tea loaf………
The Guy in the hall for Guy Fawkes, the kite
flying at Liesbeek Park – her amazing energy dashing about in the wind getting
the kite off the ground !
The poem stuck on a kitchen cupboard lamenting
the trials of motherhood ending with words to the effect one day , when you are a mother yourself you will
understand….” And I do !
Blue aerogrammes written as she spoke, sometimes
with such speed and excitement sentences were left unfinished, recipes omitting
the essential final part- delaying the final production as we waited for the next aerogram with the important
information … blue aerogrammes becoming sad, confused, and
then no more…….. I have them still.
I marvel in wonder at how she created so
many memories, had so much time for
so many people- coping with all that life sent her way and showing me how to do
the same.
A life well spent meaning so much to so many- my mother.
Lorraine.