To be a Dad I’m heading towards 50, a father to a 19yo son Dylan, and an 18yo daughter Brynn. I lost my dad this year and I miss him terribly. I seem to have done a fairly good job of fathering my kids if other people’s unsolicited comments are anything to go by. There are a good few things I regret not having done, but very few I regret doing. Here are some of [...]
Every morning for the past 8 months I have woken up and at least one thing is the same as the day before and as the day to follow... I am a dad. My wife and I received the incredible blessing of our little girl, Cori Rose Benn, at around 13:00 on Wednesday 26 February 2014. Something I have always wanted to be is a dad. Since almost as long as I can remember I [...]
i won't lie, writing about Race in South Africa can feel a little daunting. Especially when you have been out of the country for three years - one of the things i didn't want to do was come charging in with all the answers and so i chose instead to use my little platform to create a space and invite some people to share their thoughts. There have been a whole bunch of conversations about [...]
I would like to think that I am good at putting my thoughts onto paper (virtual or not) but sometimes I come off as ignorant or unaware of something because the thought process that made me think or say something just wasn’t explained properly. So when the topic of transformation came up I was weary to even try to say anything about it. If you have been following the discussion there have been some really [...]
My name is Louise and I have Asperger's syndrome. Not many people know what this is, especially those in the church. There are two polar opposite views that I have come across in the church when faced with any mental or psychological disorder. On the one extreme its total denial of the illness or disorder (something can't be wrong with a Christian) and on another extreme its you have demons in you and we need [...]
i have loved the conversations happening on my blog with regards to matters of Race recently. A lot of the posts are specific to South Africa, but i imagine there are themes, ideas and principles that will translate to other contexts around the world and it will be good to get some outside voices as it were to comment as well. What has been particularly exciting to see has been the spirit of engagement that has taken [...]
i have loved the conversation going on in the comments section of the blog piece Nkosi wrote for me on First Steps White South Africans can make towards a really new South Africa. My friend Lex passed on a response from her friend, Sindile, which i thought would be good to use as a standalone post as i'm sure it will also generate some good conversation. So we would love to hear from you and please [...]
This feels like a psalm for old people [like me]. So if you're not even partly old, maybe bookmark this and come back and read it in ten years or so... And seriously go and read the whole psalm - i am not going to go through all of it here, but it really is a good one to read all the way through: 1 In you, Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be [...]
Once I've fed; entertained; disciplined; played with; answered a billion and 1 questions and then finally put the kids to bed, I get to relax and watch some tv - I am exhausted. I don't do this everyday, only every so often, to give those who do a chance to enjoy their long lost freedom - I am the babysitter. I'm a firm believer in the saying "it takes a village to raise a child" [...]
My good friend, Linda Martindale introduced me to a friend of hers, Nkosivumile Gola at the TRC Re-Enactment meetings we both went to a week or so ago in Stellenbosch. When i heard that Nkosi had a blog i immediately asked him if he would consider writing a piece for mine. Not to give him an easy ride, i posed this topic to him - the fact that for white people who do want to [...]