December 2016

8 December 2016. YIPPEEEE! PARTY ON!!!!!!! School holidays at last!!!!

I sound like one of my pupils instead of a sensible, dedicated, grown-up teacher! But hey, it’s been a rough year – especially working alongside Miss Motaneko. Thank goodness she’s retiring. I hope our Headmistress will find someone nice to take the other Grade 7 class next year!

And my beloved Jonas has promised me a romantic week in the Drakensberg for my Xmas prezzie. Can’t wait!

I have always kept a diary, ever since I learned to write, back when I was six. The bottom shelf of my bookcase is packed full of my diaries, kept through the years. Jonas, my husband, just smiles and shakes his head.

Jonas is not into keeping a diary. He quotes at me from the Bible: Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask.

“It means, Harmony my love, that I’d rather forget bad things from the past. And as for all the good things – well, I can remember them without keeping a record. But hey, whatever floats your boat!”

One thing I know for sure, Jonas would never read my diary. Even though I keep it on my desk at home, between my piles of exercise books that must be marked. No, for sure, he would never invade my privacy. He just isn’t that kind of person.

Sometimes, when I’m alone and Jonas is off playing soccer or working overtime, I read through my old diaries. They make me feel connected and balanced. They remind me of all the happy times from way back – like the year I turned ten.

15 June 2002. Today that boy down the street let me ride his bike. His name is Jonas and he is thirteen. And he helped me keep steady. But then I fell off and cut my leg. And the other kids were laughing at me. But Jonas shouted that they must stop. Jonas is a nice kind boy.

That was the day I made up my mind to marry Jonas when I grew up. What a good decision it turned out to be!

There are sad entries too. Of course! Like back when I was nineteen. But life is all about the good and the bad, all woven together into the fabric of our days. You can’t have one without the other. The sad times just make the happy times sweeter. That’s what I think anyway.

17 December 2010. I failed! My first year at Teacher’s Training College and I failed the year. I suppose with the stress of Mama’s illness. What can I do now? All my life I wanted to be a teacher. Now I have to give up that dream.

Yes, that was a terrible time. But Jonas convinced me to re-apply, to try again. Meanwhile my mother was recovering, growing stronger. And yes, that second time, I made it through – with a B average! And I knew nothing would stop me from reaching my dream.

That’s another thing I love about my diaries – seeing how I faced challenges and overcame failures and struggled through and kept trying in challenging times. And how sometimes I learned important lessons along the way. That gives me courage and faith for when rough times will come in the future.

26 December 2016. I think I’m pregnant! Wow, what a magic Xmas prezzie! Even better than the trip to the Drakensberg! Please please, let this be true!

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Tell us: Do you keep a diary? Do you agree with Harmony that sad times just make the happy times sweeter?