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I just spent some time in my home town with two of my sisters (Jean and Belinda) and my parents. It was a nice visit with everyone, but driving back home I started to wonder… How can my family’s personalities be SOOOO different? I have 4 siblings and we are all very different. We were raised by the same two parents so shouldn’t we have some similarities. Granted there’s an 18 year difference between my oldest sisters (twins) and me (I’m the youngest), but I don’t think that plays a huge role in it. Now it’s true that we have the same basic principles that my parents instilled in us such as being good, honest, nice people, blah, blah, blah….. But honestly, I don’t know that we’d be friends if we weren’t related. I have so little in common with some of my siblings.

For example, my parents are both Republicans. This was an especially bad time to go home. Poor planning on my part. I really don’t like to discuss politics with my family because most of them have Republican views. Republican views I can handle, ultra conservative views I can’t. I don’t like debates or confrontations at all. My sister Jean on the other hand likes to “talk politics” to my mom and get her fired up. My mom is a devout Rush Limbaugh fan (makes me puke). So whatever his views are on a topic so are my moms. Which then gets Jean and my mom into a political debate. And that’s usually my cue to leave the room.

Then driving home, I saw a group of motorcyclists driving down the road. When I saw them the first thing that popped into my mind was a stereotype of motorcyclists. Tattos, missing teeth, dirty, beer drinking, etc…. but then I thought what a minute if I think that about those guys, then I have to think it about my brother. He owns not one but TWO Harleys. He just went on a week long bike ride from Arizona to Montana. My brother doesn’t have a tattoo, has all his teeth, showers daily (at least I think he does) and doesn’t spend all his time at biker bars. So I quickly had to think maybe the guys I saw on the road aren’t all that bad. But that got me thinking again, why does Roger (my brother) enjoy riding motorcycles? Is it a guy thing, maybe partly. But this is the same guy who sends me all sorts of political emails bashing Obama. Roger is not a huge McCain fan, but is a republican. Living in Arizona, he’s wasn’t a McCain supporter early on, but now he has to be because he’s a republican. In fact when he called while I was home he asked me what I thought of Palin. All I could say (remember I’m the one who doesn’t like to debate) was “She certainly took the spotlight away from Obama and the DNC in a hurry.” That was my nice noncommittal answer. But I did say they are going to have to stop showing her shooting a gun to get women votes. At least in my opinion. But I digress….

So this brings me to my own two kids. What will their personalities be like when they are all grown? Will they be close and talk often or will they be like my sister Denise and I who maybe talk twice a year on birthdays? Will one of them try to get me fired up on a topic we don’t see eye to eye on, or will we just avoid that topic of conversation. Will they be devout church goers like my mom and sister Belinda???? Only time will tell.

3 Comments | In: All about MOM, All about the kids, MotherT, Politics | tags: family, Politics, sisters. | Author Archives: MotherT

Driving home from my in-laws a few weeks ago Cole asked the question, “Where are all the goats?”

Hey dude! Nice fur-goat!

Now, this might seem a common question if you regularly pass by a farm or a field where you see the the odd grazer. But we were driving through the buzzing metropolis of Mtubatuba. (Okay, slight exaggeration. Mtuba has one stop sign and one petrol (gas) station and its claim to fame is that Brad Pitt visited for an AIDS project as it has one of the highest infection rates in the world… but I digress) When Cole was worried about the missing goats it was because there are normally a dozen or so goats standing around tied to trees ready to be purchased for the latest celebration of lobola (marriage dowry), wedding or even to slaughter for a funeral. But today there were no goats to be bought and Cole –our animal lover- was distraught!

It's a goatieback, not a piggyback!

I decided it might not be a good idea to stroll down the street to look at the local market where the sangomas (witch doctors) go to buy their ingredients to make their muti (traditional medicine) in case we find remnants of the goats in question. You will, however, find ingredients such as animal livers, monkey tails, hair from a baboon, etc. for your latest soup to make your secret crush fall in love with you.

It’s experiences like these when I wonder, how will my boys adjust to living back in the States again? I’ve had to learn the different vocab for simple kid games like catch. Instead of “You’re it!” you say, “You’re on!” and “You can’t (pronounced caahhhn’t) tag me, I’m in DEN” den=base. I’ve almost forgotten that it isn’t common to have kids shout out, “Mum! The monkeys are in our kitchen again!”

Monkey in our backyard

And children running around the shopping centers, libraries and schools without shoes is expected. Last time we were in the States my eldest warned his American friend not to go too close to the lake because there are hippos and crocodiles! I didn’t have the heart to tell him the only thing in there is a pretty little rainbow trout or maybe a couple of bullfrogs!

It’s not just their experiences…it’s their accents. It now sounds normal when they tell me, “Mum, you mustn’t rush to drop us at school-jaaa, we will be there just now. Not to worry” or “Mum, don’t forget my tackies in my gym kit, hey!” not to forget “I only like marmite saarmies with cheese, not bovril!”

Though they were both born in the USA, it seems I’m raising two true South Africans.

Howzaaaaat BOOEEETIE!

6 Comments | In: All about the kids, Moyamuhle | tags: Africa, Brad Pitt, Cole, Goats, Mtubatuba, Sangoma. | Author Archives: Moyamuhle