Ok, so this doesn't really qualify as travels, but we did get out the house and we slept over at a guesthouse.......so technically we travelled.
To any father out there who has had the honour of watching a beautiful little girl grow up, and then suddenly finding yourself standing at the hall watching her walk up the pathway looking like a princess and realising that the little girl has become a little lady, this is my story. I'm going to call Lisa my "poepies" till the day i die but i have to get used to the idea that she is not so little anymore.
Lets start this little story at the beginning and go back almost 19 years. Lefty and myself married in 1993 on a guest lodge called " Marepe Lodge" which is about 30 km outside of Hoedspruit (a town (?) thats even smaller than Burgersfort). I was in the Airforce at the time working as an Aircraft fitter at 1 Squadron Airforcebase Hoedspruit (GO BILLY BOYS). Lisa was born a little while later and, i have to admit, i was scared. We were both young and it was a huge challenge to have kids so early, but our love prevailed and we took life day by day and i won't change it for anything in the whole world.
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| My little girl |
To get the long story short, in no time at all Jared (Jerry) was born and our lives started getting hectic. Lisa has been a "Diva" since the day she born. I had to literally fight with the nurses to get a chance to hold her in the hospital. She was a little drama queen and has, still is and hopefully will far into the future, provided us with endless amounts of laughter, tears and total amazment when she starts getting into her drama self. We always beleived she will be on TV or movies and i still hope so (move over Charlize, Poepies is on her way).
The Dress.... well thats about the same as going to the dentist. Lisa spent weeks in JHB and kept sending info regarding dresses that she liked and i didn't (price range R8000.00 plus). Eventually we heard that she found "THE DRESS" and, well, it was a relief. Almost affordable and when i first saw her wearing it i cried. I know it is not manly to admit, but i did. The whole outfit started taking shape and the shoes, jewellry, underwear, handbags, hair, make up and everything else was falling into place. This is not an easy time for a man in any house, woman getting ready for a big day!!!!.
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| Our room at De Ark |
We booked ourselves into a guesthouse in Lydenburg called "De Ark". It was close to the school and central in town. The day started off at a rush and everyone(except me) was running around like headless chickens. We met up at the hairdressers and (of course) everything was running late. Make up was being done, driers blowing, smirnoffs cold, me sitting in the car....bored. At last we got to the guesthouse and the dresses were pulled out, shoes were cleaned and handbags were clutched. Then the great adventure begun. The photographers were scattered all over the counrty side outside of Lydenburg and we had to get there on time to get the photos done. This was where the great sense of direction of a woman came into full swing. We (lisa and i) got lost(she was navigating) and spent about 20 minutes on the phone trying to figure out where the hell these people were. Eventually we happened across the first photographer and i suddenly felt relaxed. That was until i saw my baby in her full glory standing tall, this is the time i walk away and silently wipe the tears out of my eyes.
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| The mafia convoy |
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| Lefty and Lisa |
We moved to 3 photographers and everytime i had tears when i heard the people complimenting my baby. The photographers were excellent and their photos are more than fantastic. I could not believe how my little girl can grow up into a princess. Photos done, we finally got on our way back to the guesthouse and only just got back in time for the convoy that was picking the kids up. A real mafia style limo, escourted by 2 vehicles. A good entrance at the hall.
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| On the red carpet |
In no time at all we found ourselves standing outside the school hall i got a serious attack of hay fever (that is my story and i am sticking to it) when my "Poepies" walked down the red carpet. She was stunning and i will forever believe that she was the prettiest, most beautiful young lady there on the night. Speechless. teary eyed, Lump in the throat, or according to Lefty, just a softy at heart. Call me what you want, but i cried (behind the tree) and i finally realised that my "Poepies" is now getting to be independant. She is beautiful (must be from her mom) and i love her very much. All in all it was a brilliant night and Lefty and i found ourselves back at the guesthouse after a dinner at Ocean Basket not knowing what we should do with ourselves. I have to say that it is not easy to let go and let your kid get into the Big world. But hey, thats life. Lefty and i spent the evening talking about how all the "kids" looked and when we were woken at 2 in the morning by our "kids" getting back to the guesthouse we breathed a sigh of relief and slept like proud parents the rest of the night.
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| At one of the photographers |
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| Lisa and Stefan |
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| Arriving at the hall |
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