Yesterday, we all had water melon for breakfast. Well, 4 out of 5 had water melon. Zeus was already in his room for the day. Tita, our little white lady, is struggling with the new member of our home. We got Hero Junior on Sunday. This little black alsatian is Walker's sunshine. He refuses to cuddle and play with the pups but I have seen him smiling in HJ's direction a couple of times.
So, back to the melon. We all had melon [except for Zeus] and I made sure Tita and HJ got a slice each. However, Tita's still not used to not being the baby. She kept stealing HJ's slice and carrying it over to her end of the verandah. Then she would growl and bark at him if he attempted to recover it. It was actually quite funny because she kept stopping mid-bark to let out a little cough [she's got the sniffles.] At 6 weeks, HJ can barely growl let alone bark. I tried to right the wrong a few times. Each time I heard Walker's voice in my head, telling me not to spoil them and to let them sort it out. After a few more attempts HJ gave up and curled into a ball next to my feet. He was not interested in the hustle any more. He had spent most of the night howling about being left in his room alone. I'm guessing he was tired and just wanted some peace.
A lot of my frustrations stem from resentment or jealousy because people appear to be in a better situation than I am. Either I think like Tita, and I consider taking what isn't mine or, like HJ, I sit in a ball and wallow in my sorrow. I do not think of the bigger picture or of the fact that each of us is meant to eat a different piece of the pie. We can't all have the same number of cherries and raisins. I tend to feel insecure in the fact that I am not as put together or as confident as some of my peers appear to be. They know what they want in life. Maybe they've chosen to live for their families and are seemingly content in their bliss. Or perhaps they've dedicated their life to a passion of some sort; their talent, career, belief or some social agenda drives them to be greater than average.
The truth is, I have had more than enough opportunities in life. There are many times I have walked into the room at the right moment or talked to the right person or remembered the right fact. Actually, it all started by being born into an awesome family, right at the end of the war. I did not consciously go through the years of turmoil. I was born when "Walking on Sunshine" and "Can't touch this" were considered recent tracks. I was born just before the internet and mobile phones became common place - important because I was born to a father who was and always will be an avid collector of all things geeky and techy. He made sure we knew what was what early on in life.
I was born to a mother who had worked in the vineyards in southern France during her school vacations. She poured all of that wonderment into my everyday. I remember being the only child watching "Titanic" after 8 pm in the only cinema in Kampala, which we visited regularly [back then cinemas were a special treat for romantic couples]. I also remember being treated to pizza and Italian ice cream at "Mama Mia" the day after I had had the loudest teenage outburst - we had a heart to heart that sobered me up.
I was also born to parents who insisted on our Africaness. I am a mixed child, as such, I was taught that I belong to Africa, and she to I - there was no colour or race or tribe or even gender in our house. I was taught that I could do anything, and that none of those labels would define how my life would pan out.
A lot of my frustrations stem from resentment or jealousy because people appear to be in a better situation than I am. Either I think like Tita, and I consider taking what isn't mine or, like HJ, I sit in a ball and wallow in my sorrow. I do not think of the bigger picture or of the fact that each of us is meant to eat a different piece of the pie. We can't all have the same number of cherries and raisins. I tend to feel insecure in the fact that I am not as put together or as confident as some of my peers appear to be. They know what they want in life. Maybe they've chosen to live for their families and are seemingly content in their bliss. Or perhaps they've dedicated their life to a passion of some sort; their talent, career, belief or some social agenda drives them to be greater than average.
The truth is, I have had more than enough opportunities in life. There are many times I have walked into the room at the right moment or talked to the right person or remembered the right fact. Actually, it all started by being born into an awesome family, right at the end of the war. I did not consciously go through the years of turmoil. I was born when "Walking on Sunshine" and "Can't touch this" were considered recent tracks. I was born just before the internet and mobile phones became common place - important because I was born to a father who was and always will be an avid collector of all things geeky and techy. He made sure we knew what was what early on in life.
I was born to a mother who had worked in the vineyards in southern France during her school vacations. She poured all of that wonderment into my everyday. I remember being the only child watching "Titanic" after 8 pm in the only cinema in Kampala, which we visited regularly [back then cinemas were a special treat for romantic couples]. I also remember being treated to pizza and Italian ice cream at "Mama Mia" the day after I had had the loudest teenage outburst - we had a heart to heart that sobered me up.
I was also born to parents who insisted on our Africaness. I am a mixed child, as such, I was taught that I belong to Africa, and she to I - there was no colour or race or tribe or even gender in our house. I was taught that I could do anything, and that none of those labels would define how my life would pan out.
Since HJ didn't get to eat his melon, I decided to try something else. I had some of their cooked food all ready and dished some out. I even went ahead to put Tita in her room so she wouldn't interfere. HJ wanted none of it. I was getting tired of the drama so I let Tita out, with the intention of letting them sort themselves out. As it turns out, HJ needs to share his food in order to eat it. As soon as she started nibbling, he joined her and they peacefully munched along.
So, we've learnt that divide and conquer isn't always the best method and that the bigger picture is about all of us, together. This morning, I also found out that the dogs will bark when I sing high pitched, off key tunes. The neighbour says we should think about getting a cat. Hmm...
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