When I left home at the age of seventeen in 1983, my mother gave me this little album. Being a wise-ass of monumental proportions I buried it at the bottom of my suitcase, where I recently retrieved it for the book I’m writing. Would you like to know what it contains? 
My mother’s full name was Theodora Herbertine — Thea for short. She had experienced a great deal in her life. Enough to fill several books. She was not shy about sharing her wisdom.
I’ll share one of her life lessons a day. Feel free to ignore them (as I did) or take them to heart.
If I were giving advice to my own children, this would not be on the first page. But health is important. And warmth. Baby.
What would you put on your first page?
What would you put on your first page?
I think you’ll all agree that she would have wanted me to post this one immediately.
My mom passed away on 22 August 2016 at the age 92, but there's more than enough advice in this album to keep going after the memorial date. This photo confirms she was a wise-ass from an early age.
When my mom was in her early 60s, she set herself up as a swimming coach, to supplement income from my dad’s ailing business. She retired at the age of 80, as one of the best stroke/style coaches in the Gauteng area, spending several hours a day in the pool training toddlers.
My hardly-hearing dad was always nearest the phone and we always had the same screaming dialogue.
- HELLO? HELLO?
- It’s me, dad, RICHARD!
- WHO? IS THAT YOU BIG SON?
- YES! RICHARD!
- HOW ARE YOU?
- I’M FINE, THANKS!
- WHAT? WAIT I WILL CALL YOUR MUDDER! THEA! THEA! RICHARD!
- HELLO? HELLO?
- It’s me, dad, RICHARD!
- WHO? IS THAT YOU BIG SON?
- YES! RICHARD!
- HOW ARE YOU?
- I’M FINE, THANKS!
- WHAT? WAIT I WILL CALL YOUR MUDDER! THEA! THEA! RICHARD!
My mom always had twenty chores to keep bored young hands busy. To this day, I cannot sit comfortably in a room that someone else is cleaning. I see my mother’s raised eyebrow and feel compelled to help.
This was probably my mom’s overall assessment of the fact that I’d finished school with a C average, confirming the remark most commonly made by my teachers: “Richard could do better.”
To make matters worse, the logic of learning for tests and exams evaded me. “But why, Mom?” I would whine, “I’ll have forgotten all this nonsense in two weeks’ time!”
“You’ll need it later, Richard!”
“I’ll just look it up in a book, Mom!”
“You can’t think like that, Richard!”
“You’ll need it later, Richard!”
“I’ll just look it up in a book, Mom!”
“You can’t think like that, Richard!”
*points childishly at internet*
