Nostalgia

I was going through my memory bank and found these, I thought for them to have stayed in my mind and heart, must have meant something. On some of these I cannot remember what or how, but I remember.

I remember playing hide and seek between windows and curtains. I remember rose bushes. I remember a sausage dog. I remember sugar plantations and peacocks on telephone poles. I remember a whites only bench and a rough sea. I remember running in front of a swing and getting stitches. I remember swimming in a dam and the sun touching its brim, like a lemon on a cocktail. I remember baseball, and rollerskating, and hopscotch, and oumas rusks and riding on the back of a van. I remember being called coolie for the first time and thinking that sounds awful. I remember befriending the caretakers at school and lunching with them. I remember gas stoves and hot tea on beach outings. I remember swimming past the pier, swimming from pier to pier, being sprayed with ink from a stingray. I remember having glued smeared all over my face. I remember being suicidal, while being happy. I remember my first splif and my first dance, my first award, my first regional colours, my first faint, my first R2, my first pair of jeans. I remember my hair cuts being at a barber. I remember fetching water from a river to take home to have a bath in, sitting in the boot with the water, it was open, I was the protector of the water! I remember not having everything, I remember being happy. I remember not having my parents say no, but trying everything to make sure that we were happy. I remember eating by candlelight, I remember big tomatoes with mince. I remember pretty dresses and short hair. I remember mitochondria but not logarithms. I remember bus rides and train rides and car rides. I remember a story about a white rabbit. I remember beaches and sunshine, I remember beaches and rain. I remember being called coolie for the second, third, fourth and fifth time. I remember becoming. I remember babysitting and bible verses, liking boys, liking philosophy. I remember my second splif, my philosophy tutor and thinking, I will be a freedom fighter! I remember sitting in front of the TV and watching Bruce Fordyce win the marathon. I remember a freedom march in primary school, I remember the song we sang. I remember long distance races and relays, high jump and long jump. I remember driving. I remember making invites and knowing that Madiba, Father of our Nation, will hold one. I remember loving God, loving my sister and loving my brother, and loving my mother and loving my dad. I remember riding on the back of a bike with Jacques in country that I will make my home. I remember the lady that I spoke to everyday and did not understand a word. I remember sugar plantations and running in them looking for the perfect sugar cane. I remember my best friend. I remember my first contraction, I remember the last stitch. I remember crabs in rivers and climbing trees, I remember an accident. I remember an accident, I remember an accident. I remember the Life those accidents took. I remember being good, i remember being bad. I remember dropping out, I remember being focused. I remember pool parties and floating candles. I remember the little baby that caled me 'mama', (I think of him often). I remember my wedding day. I remember geckos and monsoon rain, the shy lizard and the snake that slithered past, I remember falling on electronic fecnces. I remember helping build a church. I remember the colour purple and the colour yellow. I remember the birth of my children. I remember a Life that has been worth it.
I remember that LIGHT and LOVE were always with me.

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