Written on Tuesday 03 January 2017
By the time we reached July, I
was feeling a lot more settled in my job, and was getting used to negotiating
my way through peak-hour traffic twice a day. In fact, my new car was such a
novelty, I actually enjoyed spending time in it.
In July, I also confirmed my
fourth annual December concert with Wayne Bosch. This was a big deal to me – it
meant the start of months of planning! Another music project started in July,
which saw me rehearsing for a trio concert with Mervyn Africa (pianist) and
Errol Dyers (guitarist). The concert itself took place in August, at the
Catholic Welfare & Development Centre, in Athlone.
On 16 July, I went back to my
restaurant gig at Sabria’s, after an eight-week break related to the month of
Ramadaan. Sabria’s is a Muslim-owned restaurant, so they don’t have live music
during the fast. It affects two weeks before and after the actual fast.
Summer and I went to see our next
musical, My Fair Lady, on the 23rd, at Artscape. Earlier that day, I
attended the funeral of one of my favourite high school teachers, Maureen
Adriaan. It was a time of deep sadness and reflection for us all, as we said
goodbye to someone who had impacted so profoundly on our lives.
In August, we were still trying
to find a dressmaker for my daughter’s matric ball dress.
On 6 August, one of my cousins,
Denzil Haupt, brought the whole extended family together to celebrate his 60th
birthday. A memorable occasion indeed.
The next evening, I took part in the
trio concert I’d been rehearsing for. I had no way of knowing it at the time,
but it was to be the catalyst for something really special, a few months later.
In all this time, I continued
dancing, as much for physical exercise as for psychological well-being. I’d long
embraced the fact that challenges were inevitable, but that our attitude
towards them – and to life, in general – was the key to getting through them.
For me, this has to include some sort of physical exercise. Ironically, in
2016, my busy schedule and my tiredness (from all the challenges) often saw me
skipping dance sessions. You get to
midnight, you want to dance, but you also know that you need to rest and sleep,
in order to recharge your batteries, and meet the next day’s demands.
My usual dilemma, late at night: do I dance, journal, read, play guitar, or go to sleep? Typical Trudy.
At the end of August, my daughter
started her September mock final exams. On 16 Sept they finished, and that same
night was their matric dance. She looked like a beautiful forest princess – the
look she’d been going for – and she had a great time.
On the last day of August, my
6-month probation period in my new job came to an end. Nothing happened - no
lightning bolt, no drum roll, but I felt
the significance of the day. I was about to turn 55, I had taken a huge leap of
faith by changing careers, so getting beyond probation was a milestone I needed to observe, even if it meant quietly celebrating in my heart.
On 10 Sept, I turned
55. That night I sang at my weekly restaurant gig and didn’t tell anyone it was
my birthday. Again, I marked the occasion in my own way. I felt like lucky and
special, to be doing a full night’s solo gig on my birthday. The next day marked 500 days since I’d
started dancing. A good feeling. I was proving to myself that I had staying
power.
I was delighted to be asked to do
the live music at the annual TVET ICT Conference, for the third consecutive
year. On 20 Sept, Keith Tabisher and I did the gig at the Lord Charles Hotel in
Somerset West. It was a memorable evening, and we took some happy pics.
The third school term ended on 30
Sept, which meant we were just weeks away from the final exams. Exceptionally
high marks in all her subjects rewarded my daughter for all the studying she’d
been doing. She was shocked to end up as one of the top 20 matric students at
their school for the Sept exams. I have to include this: She said that, when
she fetched her award, she looked around at who was on stage and it was “all
the clever people and me”. J
On 13 October, I attended the
annual prize-giving event at my daughter’s school – an emotional evening for
me. The next day, I attended their Valedictory service, the school’s final
goodbye to their matriculants before their study break. The formalities were
followed by refreshments, as well as the singing of the matric song for the
parents.
Shortly after that, we hit a
strange but exciting combination of events – three days after my daughter
started her matric final exams, I boarded a flight to Durban, with Mervyn
Africa and Errol Dyers! We’d been invited to repeat our trio concert in
Pietermaritzburg, as part of the 2016 Social Justice Film & Arts Festival,
organised by PACSA (Pietermaritzburg Agency for Community Social Action), our
generous hosts. What an exciting
experience! On my return, after living
as a full-time musician for just four days, I felt like I had undergone
profound change, especially in the way I viewed myself and my choices. That new
beginning is yet to be understood by others. I know what it means to me.
On 28 November, my daughter wrote
her last matric exam, ending her high school education. All that remained was
to receive the results on 5 Jan 2017. The next day, she started a holiday job,
determined to save for some long-held goals. She plans to continue her studies
in 2018.
For me, November and December
were the months in which I finalised (& obsessed about) the details of my
annual concert with Wayne Bosch. Putting on a self-funded concert is no joke. It’s a huge risk,
and one I take every year. I made some changes this time, but went into the concert
with my eyes wide open, aware of the risks. Every year, the concert is an
artistic success; I get to collaborate musically with my hero, I get to feature
young artists, and I give Capetonians a festive season event to attend. I’ll
keep working on the business concept, until I reach all my goals.
December was a very lucky month
for me - I ended up doing ten gigs. (See separate blog post.) I went on leave
on 22 December, a day after my son’s 22nd birthday. We don’t make a
fuss on Christmas Day, and I was very happy to be asked to do a Christmas lunch
gig at a fancy hotel. My concert was on 28 December, and New Year’s Eve found
me back at Sabria’s. Skipped all parties, skipped the countdown. As the teens say, "Can't deal".
In fact, this festive season, I
skipped all kinds of social events that made no sense to me and that feed the
capitalist monster. The excessive indulgence that gets confused with
‘tradition’ achieves so little that is truly meaningful. I have no interest in even
pretending it’s ok with me. The only exceptions were when I could earn money
through music, because music feeds my soul and every cent I earn goes into
supporting my little family. Every single parent knows that those
responsibilities do not take a festive break.
And immediately after December comes January, itself a ravenous beast.
Many people made 2016 a very
special year for me. I hope that I have adequately thanked them all.
I’d like to thank my children,
Nick and Summer, for being the beautiful people they are. I am very proud of
them, and feel like the luckiest person alive, to be their mother. Watching
them become young adults, and seeing how they position themselves in this country
of ours, with its widening gap between the haves and the have nots, is one of
the most interesting things to me, as their mother. May they continue to be agents
of meaningful societal change.
Peace
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