The Ides of March
- beehelm0410
- 4 days ago
- 6 min read
It's already 21 April (Rome's birthday and Pope Francis has sadly died) so its been a while and for that I apologise - on the last day of March 2025, I typed the heading of this blog and got no further as I was suddenly gripped by the absence of my mojo which had rudely gone AWOL, MIA and all that jazz - I am blaming Mercury being in retrograde. My mojo is slowly creeping back, slinking in and cowering slightly so I am cornering it, seizing it and making a grab for it!
This absence of energy, motivation, mojo is not alien to me I know and I continue to take comfort from that fact.
March really marched at us with its full force and proverbial ides! While electricity outages are, sadly, an everyday occurrence in one part of this beautiful country, March was particularly challenging as we were besieged by ongoing electricity outages - the longest outage was for 90+ hours. Our Ward Councillor stupidly told me that it is not his job to provide updates on the situation and whether or not the technicians were on site attending to rectifying the fault causing the outage. I am sorry - is this not part of your job as a Ward Councillor? (Sidenote: For many years, a councillor and friend from another ward, would always get involved to ensure service delivery whether or not it was his ward - he set an exceptionally high bar and he is greatly missed) A very terse e-mail from me to the Democratic Alliance's Gauteng head office was not responded to but within an hour of that e-mail being sent, suddenly on social media and on the ward's WhatsApp group, there was said Ward Councillor posing next to a City Power vehicle saying he was on site and the technicians were working - it had taken 4 days to get this update and reassurance and, thankfully, by that evening we finally had electricity. A lot of fridge items had to be thrown out, which was such a waste of money; we were, and still are, very grateful that my Mom lives in Jo'burg and welcomed us, every morning, so we could shower, work, charge everything from laptops, phones, emergency lights and the alternative power source for our home WiFi, shower, etc.
Morgan celebrated his 36th birthday on 5 March and it was brilliant that I could see him for breakfast on the morning of his birthday. I am so proud of him, how he has grown and matured, has a successful business where he ensures his stylists are regularly trained and updated, and he invests time into his own self-growth and development. I am so grateful for him always being so supportive of me, for being someone who champions me while also calling me out when necessary, and we enjoy a great banter - he teases me and does not criticise or make passing snide comments or jibes. There is a difference and I so appreciate that there is no jibing from him, snarky asides and barbs (pun intended). Morgan and Tristan's Dad subjected me, for so many years of criticism, being made to feel very inferior and less than, being ridiculed and mocked, it took a while and a lot of faking confidence, to voice my feelings, opinions and to even tell a story, and because I am a natural storyteller, it is something, my loyal friends, tell me I do so well. There are still times though, sadly, when occasions arise when I realise I am being mocked, there are side glances and snarky comments, and if I am saying something it is simply ignored, so I just grow quiet and retreat. It was very special celebrating Morgan's birthday with him and again celebrating it with Trish, Tristan and Morgan on the Sunday after his birthday. We gave Morgan a digital frame as well as some books I thought he would appreciate and enjoy. Johan had pre-loaded the digital frame with a collection of photos of Morgan's beloved Titan so he has a constant visual reminder of his best friend, companion, shadow and protector.
8 March was the 18th anniversary of my Dad's passing away h and on 23 March, my Mom celebrated her 93rd birthday which was quite an achievement especially considering that in December 2023 she was critically ill in hospital battling a severe sepsis infection. She was so ill my brothers flew to Johannesburg from the UK and USA respectively to be by her bedside; she rallied and has really made a remarkable come-back. We celebrated my Mom's birthday with a lovely birthday tea party at the coffee shop at the retirement village where she lives - we were joined by Louise and Chantal, whom my Mom has known since they were born (their late Mom and my Mom were lifelong good friends).
I was raised that it is good to take an interest in people, places, cultures, things etc and it is something I am eternally grateful for. It intrigues me that it does not seem to be "a thing" to ask people questions these days whether about how they are, what work they do, what is happening in their lives etc. It all seems to be very surface-level and that saddens me. I have a genuine interest in people and trying to get to know them means I will ask questions and I am happy to answer any questions which may be asked of me but it seems mutual interest is sadly not mirrored so I am not asked "how is working for yourself going?" and more of that vein, for example. Is it just me? Is it a generational thing? I have noticed that same with my Mom and I am used to her not asking me, how I am etc; but younger generations seem to not want to enquire from her about her life and she has, of course, a treasure trove of memories and stories - a veritable history from her childhood and memories of trading stores (which of course faded into oblivion), to climbing Table Mountain, riding a bicycle all the way from Cape Town to Darling (which is quite a distance), to what is actually happening in her life now, at the age of 93.
March was an up-and-down month in terms of work; some days I could work a good 6 to 8 hours and other days, only 2 so it is financially stressful as your monthly income is not constant but varied and when there are financial obligations to be met, that is really tough and it is a battle (and panic) for me. Having had to always rely on on solitary income to cover all the expenses and obligations of raising two sons (and the irony is that when I was married to the boys' Dad I was helped out by my brother Chris who paid for Morgan and Tristan's school fees while we were in Grahamstown), so it was a default position I still slide into, doing mental calculations in my head, always juggling what to pay, how and when etc etc. It is hard to not resort to that default position and keeping myself busy when work is quiet, by doing other activities does help - when it is quiet, is when I should be writing, but its something I have been struggling with, and that is when I build jigsaw puzzles (I am up to 7 this year, the average size being 1000 pieces) which I can borrow from my local library - I build puzzles and listen to podcasts which Bronwyn terms "hobby-stacking", a phrase I love!
And that was March so I am going to march off now - the April blog will be about Johan's birthday, Easter, and other news, commentary and observations.
What did I read in March 2025?
The Girl in Berlin by Ronald H Balson
Karolina's Twins by Ronald H Balson
Good Sisters by Sinead Moriarty
What podcasts did I listen to in March 2025?
Blood Vines
Bronwyn
Crook County
Kaitlyn's Baby
Murder in the Moonlight
Murder on Songbird Road
Nobody Should Believe Me
Once upon a Con
Scam Factory Sergei & The Westminster Spy Tapes
Stalked
Ongoing podcasts : Damage Report, Meidas Touch. The Daily Beast, Slow News, Dark Down East, The Bittersweet Podcast and Betrayal
Did you know?
Joe Harris, thought to be the oldest surviving World War II U.S. paratrooper, died on 15 March 2025, aged an incredible 108.
Finland has topped the World Happiness Report for the past eight years, owing in part to its welfare state, a closeness with nature and three million saunas
To all who support my blog and compliment me on my blog and my writing, thank you - your words of support and compliments are so impactful and uplift me more than you will ever know and I am eternally indebted and grateful - thank you, grazie mille!! I am humbled and grateful.
Per ora e fatto
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