Category: Miesblog

Every Wednesday, my kids have hockey practice and since I have 3 kids, I spend nearly all afternoon at the hockey club. There are plenty of other mothers who do exactly the same on Wednesday afternoon…that is…drive everyone around in an organized fashion, so that they can punctually be at their required sports/singing/birthdays etc. activities. It is on these afternoons that I am so happy to have a comfortable car, with a great selection of music cd’s to keep me company on my rush-around-town !

All mothers of ‘chicks’ and ‘squirrels’ (yes, that’s how we call our first and second year hockey players), are supposed to hang around the club as long as their little sprouts are on the field training. This has been made compulsory so that if any accidents were to happen, mothers can rush to the rescue !

Wednesday’s have now become a true social event for most of us. We have the ‘wine’ group, that settles under a huge parasol with heaters all around them, and they enjoy their cigarettes and wine for most of the afternoon. Then we have the tea-and-coffee-drinking-moms who seem to always be cold and therefore spend most of the afternoon indoors, unless of course the sun is shining in which case they migrate towards the benches outside on the terrace. Now…when the sun is shining, the spirits are up too ! Loud giggling and raised voices can be heard all over the place, mothers enthousiastically sharing their midweek’s stories !

These are the days I love most.
These are the days I prosper.

I seem to get such energy from listening to these wonderful women and mothers. Hearing all of their worries and insecurities, as well as many of their great joys and adventures in life. Realising we are all different, yet so alike.
We will discuss anything on these sunny afternoon’s, from school problems to bikini waxing, from men to dating experiences, from travel trips to home improvement advice. Yes, as you can imagine enough food for hilarious conversations and various thoughts and opinions.

We laugh and sometimes even cry at moments like these…and the sense of ‘belonging’ is a strong one. All living the same life, with the same struggles and the same hurdles, yet finding the purpose of it all in being good mothers, wives, girlfriends, singles, daughters, sisters, friends, and women. It is a strong bond we share, one that is rarely understood by men.  We know the value of spending time with our children, of making sacrifices, of driving them around so that they get a chance at as much as possible in life.
We know we’re all in the same boat when it comes to this type of devotion and love. And yet we truthfully admit that at times, it’s hard, and difficult to endure. We share our frustrations in the knowledge that we will not be judged but listened to, not be criticised but supported, not feel the outcast but just a ‘mom’ like any other….

To you, my wonderful friends I give my thanks for your unconditional friendship ! And to all the women out there, have a wonderful International Women’s Day !

This is a tough one, I once read somewhere that women offer sex in the hope they will get love, and men offer love in the hope they will get sex. I have often wondered if there is any truth to this.

Today I read an article in the newspaper saying that a 22 year old girl ‘stole’ her grandmother’s boyfriend (63). They mentioned having a great and healthy sex life. I couldn’t help but wonder why that seemed to be the most important aspect to mention. I already, at the best of times feel that this world has gone insane, and can’t by the life of me understand what the attraction between this 22 year old and 63 year old man could be. To me it seems to border on pedofile behaviour. In a way, I feel so bad for the grandmother, as she once again becomes one of those women who doesn’t stand a chance in the world of the young and beautiful.
Yes, it is only my superficial and very subjective view, as I have no idea what their relationship was like before the granddaughter made her appearance.

I guess you attract men with your sexuality, and looks, but in the end, I don’t believe that that is what will make them stay. Not the good ones…and yes, I remain convinced that there are many good men still out there. I hope that the true attraction lies within your soul, the person that you are and the joy you live your life with.

So, as women, what should we do to attract the ‘right’ man ?! I guess we start off by deciding what we want in a man and what we expect from a relationship. This seems easy enough, but of course not all of our needs will be met and there should always be room for some compromise, I think. The compromise being on the small issues, not the important ones. For instance, it’s no use making a point of someone’s small annoying habits, but it is crucial to feel that someone is truly interested in you, not just ‘passing time’ with you. No need for love at first sight, but you aren’t someone’s entertainment center until something better comes along.
Sometimes we so long for love that we confuse it with lust. It will satisfy for a while but leave you empty and alone in the end. To be honest, as women, we are worth so much more !!

It’s difficult to believe in yourself, and to retrieve your self confidence after a man has left you, or if you’ve had many relationships that ended badly. As a woman it leaves a huge dent and sometimes, when the hurt is deep, you’re tempted to believe you’re really not worth it. I went through that, and still at times struggle with it. Strangely enough, it is not an issue in my friendships, but when it comes to men, I am a total disaster.
I have no idea what I want, yet I want too much….
I say I don’t want commitment, yet feel true disappointment when I find out I am just a fling for the other person….
I long for love, yet don’t dare assume someone will ever love me again….
I want to believe ‘happily ever after’ still exists, yet all around me love seems to be ending in nightmares…
I find someone I like, only to realise they don’t feel the same way about me at all… !
So I’m stuck….And because I am stuck, I start looking for reasons why I am stuck. Only to find that there are no answers, except maybe to let go of it all and just be myself. Hoping deep down, that I will still get a chance at this…one day.

So if you get stuck in the battle between lust and love, take a deep look at your inner self and choose wisely.

I’ll take love…… in time.

I’m one of those women who can actually drive. I like it, I drive fast, I manoeuvre my car into any parking space, and I love spending hours driving around for pleasure. I watch Top Gear on Sunday night and truly enjoy it !! (Yes, the guys are funny too….sometimes..hahaha.) But if there is one thing I don’t like…it’s people who can’t drive. Whatever their reason may be of course, as some people are just too old to drive, whilst others are just plain blind, or traffic-fobic.

I don’t understand why these people still get into a car and think they will be fine. They are a threat to society and a danger to themselves and others. But mostly just a huge annoyance in my life !!!!

The other day, I had one of those days where I just seemed to be stuck behind all sorts of ‘bad’ drivers. The first was an ‘L’ labeled car, someone still following lessons and  instructions to learn how to drive. Ok, that, I can handle, as I too was in their place, a long time ago and know how awful it can be. So, I respectfully left some distance between us.

Just a little later I had my second encounter…an older man, tiny by the looks of it, as he could barely see over his steering wheel, and I imagine his feet could only just reach the gas pedal and breaks, let alone press down  the clutch once in a while. Now, this time I was annoyed yet I did feel some sympathy as he surely couldn’t help being small.

The third one, and yes these are the types I truly detest on the road, … those who can’t drive, yet think they can….!!! They stay on the left lane as long as possible ‘pretending’ they are going to overtake…God know’s who…..(…. there usually isn’t a vehicle in sight …)!! Then finally, after dropping subtle hints,  I’ll decide to overtake them on the right. It is THEN…when they decide it is time to go back to the right lane. Thank goodness experience has taught me that 90% of the people do this, so I am well prepared to step on my breaks and have of course scanned my mirrors ahead of time to see if a slick move back to the left lane is possible. And it usually is for me. After overtaking this ‘wacko’ individual, I usually step on it and can always be assured of angry flickering headlights behind me, as of course Mr.or Mrs ‘fantastic driver’ knows best !

This type of situation, always ends up in a ‘stoplight meeting’ somewhere….where I end up looking to my left, only to realise it is Mr. or Mrs. ‘fantastic driver’ next to me. Who, of course, is enjoying the moment, as I have by then gone back to the right lane (as you’re supposed to do) and he or she is back on the left lane, and therefore right back next to me. If I’m lucky I won’t have anyone infront of me and I will blast off once the lights go green. BUT….of course life is not always as you hope, so at the worst of times I am stuck behind someone who has all the time in the world and steps on the gas pedal about 30 seconds after the lights have turned green. By this time, and yes, 30 seconds seem to take hours in this case…I myself start to turn all shades of green!!

I’ve learnt to breathe and just let go of these small irritations, as it was eating away at me from time to time.
But of course I am human and I still occasionally suffer from traffic impatience ! That, combined with South American temperament and being able to swear in 4 different languages makes me a great driver ! 😉

I can only hope that I will be sensible enough myself to quit driving before I’m a hazard to anyone else on the road !!!