DOING LIFE

A TRIBUTE TO ROELOF AND PHOEBE WALTERS

{BOM CHALLENGE NO.12 : LIFE LESSONS}

The New Year has not even begun and already I am lagging a wee bit regarding the BOM Challenge. So naturally the first priority for 2009, as far as scrapping is concerned, was to get up to date with the BOM.

For challenge no.12 we had to do an entry about the most influential person(s) in our life. I have crossed paths with numerous inspiring people who have had significant influences on my outlook in life, but foremost I have been moulded into the person I am today, by my foster parents Roelof and Phoebe Walters. They lovingly, bit by bit, chipped away at my mould during the 33 years I have been blessed to have known them leaving behind a sculpture I am sure they are proud of.

This is the layout I dedicate with loads of love and respect to them:

Click on Pictures to Enlage

I can truly say that this page has been created proudly South African as the background cardstock are from FabScraps and the chipboard embellishments are from Miz Metal, both companies being South African.

The journaling on the layout reads as follows:

I am the person I am today, because I have been moulded by the values and aspirations of Roelof & Phoebe from the very first day I came to be with them, way back in 1967. My Dad, in his patient and calm manner shared his appreciation of nature with me. His love for gardening, knowledge of plants and birdlife naturally rubbed off onto me.

Dad worked for an insurance company for the greater part of his business career and honesty was an important element of this kind of business, especially determining whether a claimant was being honest. Honesty was then also one of the first life lessons I learnt.

My Mom was a primary school teacher for 35+ years and emphasized the importance of learning and being diligent. She was also a very skilful seamstress who made all my clothes, even school blazers. I never wore any bought clothes until my first year at college. Unfortunately, this skill never rubbed off on me.

I was brought up very strict. No back chatting was allowed and if it did take place, my ear lobe was pulled, pinched or I got a smack. I was also never allowed to call them ‘you’. I had to say ‘Mamma’ or ‘Pappa’. This obviously taught me to respect them.

Mom and Dad were not thrifty and knew how to work with money. Mom always said that she does not believe in a budget. If they could not pay cash for something, we had to go without it. They never had any accounts or bought anything on credit. This in a way is also my belief today when it comes to finances. They were also very generous people and found joy in giving. Often old clothes, etc were sent off to charity organizations. I still today, enjoy giving rather than receiving.

Especially Mom taught me to be humble and always said that you rather be the least and keep the peace. They always honoured their commitments i.e. a promise is a promise and one should always keep one’s word … I still try and live by this and feel disappointed if a promise made to me, is not kept.

I was never allowed to say what food I liked or disliked when visiting friends for a meal. I had to eat what was plated and were not allowed to leave the table before my plate was empty. This might sound very strict in today’s world, but it taught me to appreciate food and the privilege I had to have something to eat.

Mom and Dad were very active people with diverse interests and were never idle for one second. They also read a lot which was evident in their excellent general knowledge and sharpness of mind till the day they passed away. The saying ‘Happiness walks on busy feet’ is so true of Roelof and Phoebe, who were happy people, made the most of life and took whatever life threw at them in their stride.

Thank you Mom and Dad for everything you did and meant for me. Thank you for unselfishly giving everything you possibly could, at a very late stage in your lives, to make me who I am today. Your values and life lessons continue to live forth in me.

To all my dedicated Doing Life visitors, please accept my apologies, once again, for not getting to visit all your blogs since the New Year. Our faulty ADSL Telkom line still has not been fixed. Telkom phoned me yesterday afternoon to let me know that a technician will be dispatched to see to the problem today (Friday, 9 January). Let’s hold thumbs that this is not an empty promise. As soon as we have the use of our ADSL line, I will visit and comment on each and everyone’s blogs. Can’t wait to see what you’ve all been up to over the festive season. Thanks again for taking the time to stop by.

- Positively influenced, signing off