“Time is the most valuable thing that a man can spend.” — Diogenes
On January 20th 2018 I entered the Breath of Life house to drop of diapers and I sort of forgot to leave – 5 years and 126 babies later (for me) a lot has changed but my love for and commitment to the babies in that nursery is stronger than ever.
Thank you to Michelle Rielly who first welcomed me into the Breath of Life nursery, thank you to Abigail Boshoff who continues to make me feel welcome in the Breath of Life nursery and thank you to our team of baby caregivers, staff and volunteers who love and look after our babies
The hardworking baby caregivers and babies enjoying the summer day in the courtyard at Breath of Life
“There is nothing permanent except change.” -Heraclitus
New chapter at Breath of Life – as of January 1st 2023 Abigail Boshoff officially took over from Michelle Rielly as Housemom but Michelle will remain coordinator at Breath of Life working remotely from the Western Cape
Dear Michelle although you are not physically in the nursery anymore know that every time i return to hold the babies i will be holding them for both of us – your love is etched in my soul and flows through my veins. Also i plan to put you to work from where you are.
Dear Abigail i promise to always show up, you will never be alone in this journey, this I promise you. You, me and Michelle are now a triangle, each side supporting the other. We won’t let you fall ever. I look forward to getting to know you
Michelle, Abigail and I at Michelle’s farewell party in December 2022
“The great danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.” –Michelangelo
Today is New Year’s Day and with that comes new hopes, new opportunities and new goals. Check out my life’s purpose and 2023 Goals below:
My Life’s Purposes
Fill the world with kindness and love
Make a difference – level the playing field for people who were born with the cards stacked against them
Change perceptions about differently-abled people
2023 Goals
Continue to be kind, honest, generous, grateful, loyal and filled with wonderment
Every day be the best SuperSidekick to Superhero Catherine Constantinides (she’s the best, most hardworking real-life Superhero I’ve ever met she totally deserves me forever and no matter what else I’m doing in life I will always be here for her)
Maintain and strengthen my deep friendship with Michelle Rielly
Sign up 5-10 cot guardians for Breath of Life and additionally raise at least R32 000 (Breath of Life is a place of safety for vulnerable babies here in my city I JUST LOVE THEIR WORK)
Be a great support to Abigail Boshoff
Focus on wellness – have good diet, exercise, good sleep, gratitude and get more sun
Go on a boat cruise here in East London with Southern Cross Cruises -hopefully see whales or dolphins
Practice Patience
Become financially free
Teach kids and adults worldwide that Different Is COOL
Continue to raise awareness about the Western Sahara conflict – the Western Sahara has been illegally occupied by Morocco since 1975 due to the fact that it’s rich in natural and though the UN promised a referendum in 1991 it has yet to come to pass meanwhile half of the Saharawi People have been living in the refugee camps in Algeria since 1975
Choose people who choose me
Read 24+ books
Plant 1-5 trees
Do 32+ good deeds
(Note: Goals are subject to change with time and that’s ok because I will change with time)
“Make measurable progress in reasonable time.” – Jim Rohn
As we near the end of 2022 it is again time to review the goals I set at the beginning of the year
My 2022 Life Purposes and Goals in Review
My Life’s Purposes
Fill the world with kindness and love [did my best]
Make a difference – level the playing field for people who were born with the cards stacked against them [did my best]
Change perceptions about differently-abled people [did my best]
2022 Goals
Continue to be kind, honest, generous, grateful, loyal and filled with wonderment [ self-assessment: I did my best – I give myself an A+]
Every day be the best SuperSidekick to Superhero Catherine Constantinides (she’s the best, most hardworking real-life Superhero I’ve ever met she totally deserves me forever and no matter what else I’m doing in life I will always be here for her) [ again self-assessment: I knocked it out of the park I’m so proud of myself– I give myself an A+]
Raise at least R31 000 for Breath of Life [ self-assessment: I did the math and I raised a minimum of R33 600 ]
Eat healthilyand Exercise – reduce sugar by a lot and exercise back muscles [ self-assessment: I failed]
Sleep better [ self-assessment: failed]
Spend more time outside [ self-assessment: failed]
Practice Patience [ self-assessment: failed epically]
Make a steady income [ self-assessment: failed – my priority was making a difference]
Teach kids and adults worldwide that Different Is COOL [ self-assessment: I tried]
Continue to raise awareness about the Western Sahara conflict – the Western Sahara has been illegally occupied by Morocco since 1975 due to the fact that it’s rich in natural and though the UN promised a referendum in 1991 it has yet to come to pass meanwhile half of the Saharawi People have been living in the refugee camps in Algeria since 1975 [ self-assessment: I tried]
Choose people who choose me [ self-assessment: it’s a work-in-progress]
Read 12+ books [read 7 books]
Plant 1-5 trees [failed – no trees planted]
Do 31+ good deeds [ self-assessment: I don’t count my good deeds but if I did I’m sure over the course of this year I have done 31 or more]
“Things change. And friends leave. Life doesn’t stop for anybody.” – Stephen Chbosky
On October 7th 2022 my life changed forever when Michelle Rielly gently informed that as of December 14th 2022 she would no longer be Housemom at Breath of Life as she was stepping down to relocate to support her husband in his career progression – my heart is shattered it’s going to be so jarring to see another family in place of The Riellys I love Michelle like I love no one else in this life it hurts that she’s leaving but I’m thankful for five years of stunning memories and I know our story is not over
The future is green energy, sustainability, renewable energy.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger
As of yesterday, my house is solar-powered I’m so excited. The whole process took 4 days – step 1 was the installation of the battery and the invertor; step 2 was the mounting of 12 solar panels and step 3 was the wiring of the panels. A HUGE thanks to Warren Dixon and his team at In House Solar for their professional and affordable service – our road to green was made easy and exciting thanks to their exceptional service.
If you live in East London and want to go green Warren and his team at In House Solar are the people you need to call. Contact Warren on 071 415 3981
Warren and his team preparing the roof for panel installationThe team at In House Solar working hard installing panels for usPanels installedMore panels – In House Solar installed a total of 12 Panels for usNow for the wiring And we’re officially green – thanks to In House Solar
The only thing that’s constant in life is change – that’s what I keep learning
On April 30th 2022 my sister got married and thus now I have a new and very kind brother-in-law (I won’t be sharing any pictures or videos it was not my wedding and just because i’ll probably never get married I won’t use that as an excuse to violate people’s privacy) as my sister walked down the aisle to her new life I could literally feel our paths diverge I was so happy for her but also heartbroken for myself but as they say the only thing constant in life is change (Neethu, if you are reading this please know I do love you and Vineeth and i’m so happy you are married so happy but I have personal feelings that are separate from that please don’t think I’m sad because you’re married, I’m not, it’s just i’m a little lonely and that’s ok I’ll find a way to manage)
It’s been four months since my siblings went off in different provinces which sort of makes me an only child again (I sort of feel bad that this is as close to an empty nest that my parents will ever get) but I’m making the best of my alone time I read 6 books and I’ve spent a lot of time at Breath of Life and enjoyed my other pursuits. Being alone powerfully will take time and practice and I’m here for it.
This year has been somewhat difficult so far (a mix of highs and heartbreak) thankfully physically i’m pain-free but there’s nothing quite like being a first born and the last child still left in the house I love my parents and i’m grateful they house me (I can’t move out because i need too much physical help and even if i was to move out and live with an aide the aides here are not professional they show up they feel like it and that wouldn’t work with my life) so I stay with my dependable parents…everybody else is married with kids and I’m happy for them but I always feel like I’m watching a moving I’ll never be a part of I hope there are enough good people in the world who will include me in their adventures of their own accord…I feel blah and that’s ok (for now)
“I think it is easy to imagine there are easier paths,’ she said, realizing something for the first time. ‘But maybe there are no easy paths. There are just paths. In one life, I might be married. In another, I might be working in a shop. I might have said yes to this cute guy who asked me out for a coffee. In another I might be researching glaciers in the Arctic Circle. In another, I might be an Olympic swimming champion. Who knows? Every second of every day we are entering a new universe. And we spend so much time wishing our lives were different, comparing ourselves to other people and to other versions of ourselves, when really most lives contain degrees of good and degrees of bad.”
― Matt Haig, The Midnight Library
Yesterday I finished reading The Midnight Libraryby Matt Haig the book centers around Nora Seed who after attempting to kill herself finds herself in a library full of books, books which contain all the other lives she could have lived and all the other versions of herself she could have been…the book is a journey like no other filled with so much wisdom and a poignant reminder to make the best of the lives we have. If I had to rate the book I would give it a 10/10 (yes, it is that good)
