All men are created equal
That is what Thomas Jefferson thought anyway. Of course it would be great if this was truly the case. If you’ve been around just a bit it becomes quite apparent that this is most certainly not the case. It’s crazy to think that it is our fellow humans who feel the need to create some kind of hierarchy based on our various differences.
Over the weekend I had the privilege of meeting some of the South African paralympians at their home away from home venue in London. It was a truly wonderful opportunity. Later the athletes were addressed by the minister of sport and recreation Fikile Mbalula who thanked them for making South Africans so proud. Then he said something which truly blew my mind. He informed the athletes of his department’s decision to pay them what their Olympic counterparts were paid for achieving various medals. As it turned out the paralympians were going to receive just a quarter of the prize money. I was just so shocked to realise that somebody somewhere had decided that just because the athletes had some kind of physical deficit this meant they deserved less.
The Paralympics was really a great way to get people to see what you can achieve if you put your mind to a task. I’ve had some interesting conversations with my children with regard to disabilities and all I want from them in this regard is to be thoughtful and above all respect not just people with disabilities but all people.
The new king of Scotland
It was just over two months ago that I reported on team Murray so I just thought it would be fair to publicly note my knowledge of Andy Murray’s win at the US open last night or early hours of this morning depending which side of the pond you live. After watching his unbridled show of emotion after he failed to clinch the Wimbledon title then his joy at winning a gold medal at the Olympic games (by the way I totally disagree with tennis being played at the Olympics!) you couldn’t help but feel after all the years of coming so close to a grand slam title his time to be crowned on any surface was edging closer.
I imagine there were many people who stayed awake until the wee hours of this morning just waiting for a Murray result I wasn’t one of them. I didn’t even make it past the first set because it seemed a bit obvious after a rather long rally that the game would possibly go to five sets and I just wasn’t prepared to lose any sleep. The first thing I did this morning after been yanked by my alarm clock from my glorious sleep was to check the sports section and I was really relieved when I discovered that Murray had been victorious while I slept.
There is now no doubt in my mind that people will be calling for a knighthood for him. In recent years the queen has been known to hand them out like Smarties to sportsmen and women. Perhaps the downside to winning in an Olympic year particularly a rather successful one at that, the chances are ever so slim. Forget the knighthood I recommend he becomes crowned the king of Scotland. Long live king Andy!
Curtain call
Today marks the beginning of the first full school week. Monday’s always seem to arrive sooner than any other day of the week particularly after a busy weekend. I’m glad to report I survived Monday after taking it head on.
This weekend also signalled the end of the London summer games. All across Britain its citizens have been declaring how proud they are to be British. I guess you can’t deny the team’s success both in the Olympic and Paralympic games.
I have also been very proudly South African because while we didn’t win bags of medals we gave our very best and I have been overcome with a weird sense of patriotism.
So after a summer of lazing around and cheering my countrymen on, the fun and games have ended. While it is only September it feels like the beginning of something new. I love new beginnings!
Lazy days are fun days
We are now into the third week of the summer holidays and I’m loving it! I must admit though some days I wish I could send my girls off on an adventure on their own whilst I vegetate but if wishes were horses beggars would ride. I’ve been watching most of the Olympic games on telly and my daughters are quite fed up with all the channel hopping. I’ve tried to make amends by getting more craft activities than they know what to do with. So all is well at the moment.
My late nights are being followed by equally late mornings and quite honestly the only reason I eventually drag myself out of bed is because I have a nagging episode from my girls which usually includes sentences like “if we don’t get breakfast now mom we’ll die” and at that point I have no option but to feed my offspring!
Contrary to popular belief lazy days don’t just happen you have to actually plan them. This usually means a trip to the shops to avoid that terrible experience of finding out the milk has miraculously evaporated during the night or somehow the refrigerator got really thirsty. If you had thoughts of a lazy day it ends right there for me anyway because what’s a morning without coffee?
Today is not a lazy day for me since it involved a trip to the post office besides it is one of the warmest days we’ve had for a while. So I’m hanging about waiting for the weather to cool down and then a trip to the park with the girls so if a lazy day is declared tomorrow they’ll have very little reason to complain! It’s a win-win situation.
A CRY, A SMILE, A DANCE 
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