74 years later: Woman Rule
Earlier this month, on July 9 th , my mother turned 74 years old. On the phone call I made to her, she bragged about how her 74 years didn’t just happen because “ phela sidla kahle tsine lamakhaya, kudla sibili, namuhla nje ngipheke emahala ” (Us ruralites eat good organic food out here, today I cooked emahala ). Emahala are small plants that not only look, but taste like aloe. I know. As I spoke to her I reflected on some of the lessons I’ve learnt from her. “Ungaboyihawukela intfo lekhashane nawe” (Be realistic about your expectations, they should always be within reach). These are my mother’s words that stuck with me from teenagehood. But of course, as a teenager, I never wanted to give her the satisfaction that these words (or any other of her unsolicited counsels for that matter) made sense to me. Mother and I on Table Mountain, Cape Town in 2008. I was studying toward a second post-graducate degree and working at SABC TV at this time. ...