Ain't Half Hot Mum

Fancy taking part in July's Blog Challenge? 

Go visit Paula's Place to check it out and link up.

Today's Question :  Who inspires you?

That was a soopa easy question to answer.  

My mum as a Teenager

My mum inspires me.  

My mum met her childhood sweetheart when she was 15, she married him at 21 and they have been married for 47 years.  My parents gave up family and friends to move to another country to give us all a better life.  They were very brave to take such a risky chance. 

Oh, there have been times when I didn't like my mum, because of her struggle with addiction.  There have been times where I didn't think she'd be around for too long, because of her downward spiral into the dark places of substance abuse.  

My strong, beautiful mum has pulled herself out of that despair.  She has been sober for nearly 20 years, which deserves a fucking gold badge on its own.  My mum has inspired me to NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP.  No matter how bad things get, you CAN turn things around.  

My mum inspires me to be strong and resourceful, to look for the best in people and always look for the good in situations.  It's not always easy because I'm rather a pessimist   I only have to remember one of my mother's many sayings;  Be Sure Your Sins will Find You Out.  Her sayings continuously bring me back to reality and the truth.  My mum's faith is unshakable and she has empathy and kindness for others way beyond my understanding.  Her awesomeness motivates me to be more like her.

If I have inherited an ounce of her inspiring spirit, I'll be content soul.

My Mother's Day at Goblin's Cove

My Mother's Day in Pictures.


Goblin's Cove was beautiful, the weather was perfect, the food was outstanding, the company was brilliant and the surprise was awesome. A brilliant Mother's Day.  I am a happy Mum.




My brilliant homemade cards



Goblin's Cove Entrance

My Wee Family

Entrance to Goblin's Cove



Megan hugging a tree



Goblin's Cove Gardens

The Massive Sand Pit

A Happy Daft Scots Lass

The Food.  I forgot to take shots of the first two courses :  a gorgeous salmon mousse for starters, a stunning chicken with vegetables for main and this was the white chocolate mousse with truffle for dessert.  YUM.  I gave the Dukan Diet a skip for this meal

The Train Accommodation at Goblin's Cove.  Very Quaint

Kaylin and a Tree

A remingston typewriter hidding in a wee corner

Kaylin found all the cats in the garden and made friends with them.  My wee animal lover

My Heart is Sore!

My mum left to go back to the south coast last night after spending two weeks with my sister and two weekends in a row with me. It was so wonderful to have her stay with us and be part of our wee family, even if it was only for a couple of days. She is brilliant with the children and she has a wisdom and calm about her that makes me feel safe and secure. She has endless patience and she is so easy to talk to. She has such inner strength and stays positive no matter what. I think her relationship with God has something to do with that.

I normally cry when my mum leaves to go home but it doesn’t last too long because I know I’ll see her again soon but last night I was really sobbing. Luckily my Boerewors was there to hold me tight while the tears trickled down my cheeks.

You would think that it would get easier to say goodbye after her being living down in the south coast for ten years but, it doesn’t. It gets harder and I think its getting harder because I see my mum is getting older and I realise she’s not going to be around forever. I guess I feel that I never know when I’m going to see her again and the fact that I can’t just “pop in” when I need her or miss her. I want to be there for HER. She’s been there for me no matter what and now that she’s getting older she can’t do everything she used to be able to – physically I mean. She has arthritis in her back and wrists and I can see its sore but she tries to hide it well and carry on regardless. I wish I could help her out and take care of her like she’s done for me all these years. My mum has had a rough life and been to hell and back moving her family to a new country, feeling alone in a new country and now alone in her marriage.

The longing feeling is still with me today even though I have called my mum on the phone to make sure she got home okay…I still feel empty and sad.

She's my best friend and the best and most special mum in the world!!!

I love you!