The Core of US...part 1 (Life)

On the tip of South Africa is a place called L' Agulhas, and next to it Struis Bay. L 'Agulhas point is where the warm currents of Indian and the cold currents of the Atlantic ocean meet. It is also the place we call home in our hearts for many reasons.         

It is a place that represents love, life, laughter, bliss, intense pain, heartache, loss and all the other human emotions not mentioned. Our story begin approximately 40 years ago, for one of us, in any case, and got richer as time past.

Long before I knew my husband, I went to Struis Bay for the holidays every December and January. My dad hooked up the old caravan on to the 1965 Mercedes, and we started the 3 hour drive to our annual spot. The Merc was an old fin-tail model and I was highly embarrassed that my dad drove such an old car.

I though it was the ugliest car in the world and to this day I have not developed an appreciation for cars of that era.

The trip took us over the Helderberg pass from Cape Town, through the fruit orchards, apples mostly, of the Grabouw region, to a town called Caledon, in the Overberg (Wheat growing region). From here you turn off the main route and drive down to the coast.

We spend our Christmas and New Year in Struis Bay's caravan park. I remember the dances on Fridays and Saturdays, the little natural Harbour and the smell of fish being offloaded (Yellowtail in that part the year) and buying it fresh from the boat.

Lazing my days on the beach, the longest in the Southern Hemisphere of 14 kilometers, and how peaceful was the early morning or late afternoon walks on the beach, and yes a few holiday flings too.

My dad always booked our "spot" for the next year, the day when we left. It was always the exact same stand and many of our "neighbors" did the same, resulting in the same people coming back year after year. We always arrived when the caravan park was close to full and left when it was empty. It was always strange to get used to the hustle and bustle and once you get used to it, there was a sense of loss when everyone departed in the first week of the year. We always stayed until the middle of January. I only later (in my teenage years) came to appreciate the wonderful feeling of having the beach to yourself, doing my own thing and being able to be content with my own company.

In 1993, after my dad's retirement, and some family discussion, my parents decided to permanently move to Struis Bay and bought a plot and built a small 2 bedroom home on it. They moved to Struis Bay in 1995.

In part 2, Love, we tell the continuing story of our deep relationship with Struis Bay.

Forgotten memories within a chair

In the last little period I have been thinking about a specific chair we currently use for our son and what it represents. As I thought about it I realized it represents history, family, love, joy, sadness, creativeness, learning and even in a way, tragedy. The chair I am talking about is this one.

[caption id="attachment_286" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Admiring his chair[/caption]

An unassuming baby feeding chair. In modern times many would say, leave it alone, danger, it does not conform to modern standards. Something for the attic or corner in the house. We say, get your bum in son and be part of its story.

The Tragedy

In the late 1800's a horrible fatal accident took place, where a young mother was thrown from a horse and cart with a 3 month old baby boy. The mother died but the baby fell in a bush and was saved. The father gave this boy 3 names, of which 3rd was one of the mother's. This boy was my father's granddad. My father inherited his names. So, before the chair became part of our history, it nearly had another.

Family

My dad, born in 1934, was the first, I know of, who used the chair, as it is said granddad bought it while grandma was pregnant.

[caption id="attachment_292" align="aligncenter" width="474"] My dad with his sister and yes "the chair".[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_295" align="alignleft" width="184"] Granddad, father and sister before they moved.[/caption]

The chair was used to raise 3 children, it moved with the family from a remote country district to the city, near 800km, due to lack of work. Here the 3rd child was born, and it was stored for later.

About 20 years later my sister was born and out came 'our chair' again to do service in silence to another group of 3 babies, of which I was the youngest.

We spent wonderful times in the chair, similar, I guess, to my father and his siblings. How do I know, mom told me.

In 2013, our son was born and as the first boy with our family name, I inherited the chair and soon after I received it, his bum was in the spot where so many people already sat and had fun, tantrums, food orgies, and whatever else.

[caption id="attachment_290" align="alignnone" width="474"] Boeta's first sitting.[/caption]

Still too young at the time, it was just for a picture pose, and my intention was always to use the second part of the chair's magic at about the age we are now (12 months).

Yes, it has a party trick, it can be used as a desk for play and eat in later stages, so when we learn and play we use it and he loves walking and pushing it around.

Why the story?

In relation to this chair, an unassuming chair, if I put my hand on its base, I touch 80 years of history, if I put my ear against it I can imagine countless dinners, hysterical laughter, tapping of toys against it, burps and the many other things that go with putting a baby in such a chair. This is not just an ordinary chair, it is a vital part of our family.

With us another chair was introduced for feeding. The question is if it will stand the 80 year test, being modern, time will tell.

Finally, I would like to say that with chairs same as people, we need to look at them carefully, they might be old, have scratches or bruises, from time spent in service, but they can play such vital roles in our lives as one kind of support or another. They hold stories full of riches and color.

What stories would these chairs have by now?

[caption id="attachment_282" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Taken round 1930's, maybe earlier.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_294" align="aligncenter" width="451"] My dad with his mom on another chair.[/caption]

With this post I would like to congratulate "our chair" on a job well done in raising the children so far and wish "it" the best for the future, may it be a long one! It holds forgotten memories of lives past and present, a reminder of each of our childhoods.

[caption id="attachment_281" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Dad and sons on celebrating another child in the family![/caption]