Celebrate
Last month was a time of festivity! Charlie’s Adventures…in Hawaii was launched in luau style, my dad and I celebrated our birthdays and my husband and I attended the most enchanting wedding that united two beautiful souls and two exquisite cultures.
Apart from the sheer pleasure of eating cake, celebrations offer an opportunity to acknowledge our milestones, rites of passage and mark precious moments in time. Celebrations bring endless amounts of smiles, laughter and harmony. To celebrate is one of life’s simplest pleasures.
The celebratory month of July started with my friend’s wedding which was overflowing with love. The wedding was jubilant from the onset, as the bride danced down the aisle with her father to the beat of the African Djembe drums that the guests played. As both the bride and groom came from two different cultural backgrounds, my friend’s father emphasised how much we can learn from one another and how we strive to create a global family, in his touching and inspiring father of the bride speech. From gleeful dancing to a wedding cake that encompassed the groom’s obsession with Batman, it was one of the most incredible wedding celebrations.
The Charlie’s Adventures…in Hawaii book launch was filled with the aloha spirit. Those who came along were greeted with a friendly aloha and given a colourful lei. My lovely “hula dancer” friend, Carissa, got all the children hula dancing. The gorgeous Harry Hartog bookstore was given an island touch with festive decorations. What made the book launch extra special was the kind and supportive people who came along to partake in the celebration and share this momentous occasion in my passage. I am truly grateful for my friends and family who were my safety net on the day (and always), who robustly cheered me on. As my daughter, Ariana, was born premature and her valour inspired me to reach for my dreams, I decided to donate proceeds from the launch to the Miracle Babies Foundation. It was an honour to be able to give back to such a worthy foundation and I was touched to have some of the nurses who looked after Ariana in the special care nursery attend the event.
Following Charlie’s book launch, my dad and I had our birthday’s sneak up on us. I love getting older (I know I am weird) and I am thankful each year as I add another candle to my cake. My dad and I wanted a family escape this year, we wanted to find tranquillity and rejuvenate. We took to the beaming South Coast. It was just what we all needed. We indulged again in decadent cake and lavish seafood meals. We took long walks on the beach as much as we could. My husband and I enjoyed watching Ariana and our beagle, Sherlock, frolic playfully on the beach. Being with family and sharing another birthday together put everything in perspective – life is truly spectacular and deserves constant celebration. It is important to cherish all we have been given with family and friends and be joyful in the moments we have together.
This month we celebrate my daughters second birthday. I am still feeling the buzz of all the beautiful celebrations of July and I am looking forward to eating more cake and being with those dear to us. Life is all about celebrating, even the most mundane tasks at times deserves an applause and a dance (I always give myself a high five after vacuuming whilst basking in having a clean floor). The simple act of celebration uplifts the soul and brings us all closer. We have lots to celebrate and it is so important we do and not only for the cake, although that is reason enough!
HIGHLIGHT OF THE MONTH
Charlie’s Adventures…in Hawaii Book Launch
