My absolute favourite person from the time I was tiny was my uncle, who played a huge role in my life. He was the most special person, one of the kindest and dearest people who spoilt me to bits, had the most wicked sense of humour, and of course made me laugh like crazy! Someone who met him many years later, just after losing her Mom, told her brother later that she thinks she met an angel that day. He knew how to make everyone feel special, whether young or old. I was happiest when he was making a fuss of me. My Mom and my Ouma were also my favourite people when growing up, but he was a kindred spirit, made life so exciting, saw me as his little sister, and doted on me. He was Mom's youngest brother, and I was the oldest granddaughter, so he was only nine years older; more like a big brother.
Dressing me up in the weirdest costumes for big fancy-dress competitions in a coastal city in the Eastern Province was so exciting. He was super talented and made me feel like a princess, at other times bribed me to dress in weird costumes, like the girl from St Trinian's. I was only about ten, and he dressed me in a black pinafore, torn black tights, face made-up and a wild hairstyle with a long cigarette holder in my mouth.
Another time, I was supposed to be one of the famous actresses of the early 60s, and I wore a tight-fitting sheath dress that followed the curve of the body, especially narrow around the legs, making walking difficult. I could barely walk, also wore stilettos that were stuffed with scrunched newspaper so my feet could fit these shoes that were too big for me. I had a beehive hairstyle where scrunched newspaper held up my hair in a beehive. I won a huge heart-shaped box of chocolates, held on to it for dear life, but I remember falling in the grass, and because the dress was so tight around my legs, my uncle had to lift me up. I was unfazed, asked for my box of chocolates and just carried on walking as if nothing had happened. My Mom said they could not stop laughing at my reaction, or rather my inaction :) I trusted my uncle implicitly and knew he would not let any harm come to me.
He always told me that the day I was born, he felt like my Mom and Dad had given him the greatest gift of all!
He later became a ballet dancer, unheard of back then, especially with a conservative Afrikaans-speaking father who frowned upon this choice of career, but he stuck to his dream. I was so proud of him, and loved watching the big ballets performed in our beautiful city hall.
His life came to a tragic end, something I wrote about before, but today I want to remember the happy times!
Every Monday a new prompt is published by the Silver Bloggers, and this week is Prompt #28: Your favourite person while growing up
Your favourite person while growing up.
The question asked, of course, was:
Do you have a favourite person while growing up?
Someone that would cover up for you or even spoil you with gifts and presents๐.
I miss those telephone calls, the stories, and the endless laughter!
But, I was blessed to have experienced that kind of closeness with a kindred spirit who was my uncle, but felt more like an older brother!
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