SEC-S10W2 – Happy Stories

^{My Happy Story, designed with Canva}

"Wake up, we are leaving!"

These were the happiest words for us as kids. Mom, waking us up in the early hours of the morning. It was time to leave for our summer vacation by the coast.

All we needed to do was brush our teeth, grab our pillows, and put our bags in the car. Bags that had been packed and ready for days already. Oh yes, and make our beds, as mom would never let us leave home without making our beds.

As we get to the car, the fighting starts. Who is sitting where? With three of us, one has to sit in the middle. I always made sure that it was not me. My place was behind dad, where I could watch his face in the side mirror and where I could make myself comfortable for a nice sleep on the long road. Mom always said that the wheels of the car were not even turning, and I was fast asleep.

I will wake up to the noise of the wheels on gravel. Hearing that it was a sign that it was eating time. Dad would park the car next to the road, under a tree.

Mom would bring out a box with containers and a cooler bag. Her "padkos" (road food) as it is known, would always include ham and cheese sandwiches that she cut into small triangles, chicken drumsticks, meatballs, filled eggs, mini sausage rolls, cocktail tomatoes, and of course, flasks with tea and coffee. I will be reading stories to the other two.

It was not funny to hear cars hoot at us as they passed us. Dad was a Ford lover, and we would always drive around in one of them. Ford Crestline Skyliner, Fairlane, Mustang, Capri, and of course, the crown jewel for me, Dad’s blue Fairmont.

^{Dad's pride posessions, his Ford cars}

After a visit to the nearest bush and wiping our hands and mouths, it was time to hit the road again.

The excitement was high as the stop was usually at half way. There was no time for sleeping as dad had already started, "The first one to see the sea will get R10 (South African Rand)." This is +/- 3 STEEM. In those days, 3 STEEM could buy a lot of sweets. We sat for those last three hours staring out of the windows.

It was definitely not three boring hours, as it was time to play some games and listen to music. We would play "Eye Spy with My Little Eye" (yes, now you know where I get my weekly contest idea from), and we would play cricket. Cricket in a car? The game is played with oncoming vehicles. Each vehicle will bring a different score. A sedan car is 1 run, an SUV (sport utility vehicle) is 2 runs, a minibus is 4 runs, and a truck is 6 runs. BUT if there is a white vehicle, you are… out! It's time for the next person. Maybe this was where my love for cricket was born.

As for the music, we love music! Those days, we used to get "Springbok Hit Parade" LPs and cassette tapes. Oh my word! Does this bring back memories!

🎼 Pretty Belinda by Chris Andrews
🎼 Black Night by Deep Purple
🎼 Cracklin' Rosie by Neil Diamond
🎼 Beautiful Sunday by Daniel Boone
🎼Love is a Beautiful Song by Dave Mills

Elvis! There had to be some Elvis songs.

Often, the cassette tapes would get stuck just as we were singing along with our loudest voices. Good timing! Mom would take a pen and start winding the tape back and give it another try, and if it didn’t work, we had something to play with.

"I see it, I see it!" You might not get a good sleep like the other two, but if you sit in the middle, you get to see the sea first.

The youngest of our three, my sister, always ended up seeing the sea first.

Dad would would never miss a drive along the ocean and a stop for us to wet our feet before we got to where we were staying and the big unpack started.

It might have been long drives, but they were drives enjoyed and remembered by all of us. I miss it!

There was this one time when Dad misjudged the amount of gasoline left in the tank. Mom would always ask him if he was sure there was enough petrol to get to the next town, to which he would answer, "More than enough, Meraai (what he called her) to take us to Cairo."
Well, this day Cairo was flippin' far, as we got stuck without gasoline before we reached the nearest town. Dad had no option but to leave us behind and start his walk to go get help and petrol.

I can remember that it was a very hot day, but mom would not let us open the windows. She even locked the doors, afraid that something would happen to us. A vehicle approached us from behind and stopped next to us. Mom grabbed the same pen she always used for those cassette tapes, ready to attack. It was a farmer with a load of watermelons. He told us not to worry, as he would go look for Dad. It was not long, and he was back with Dad and some gasoline. Best of all, he gave us a huge watermelon before he drove off.

Dad gave us three one look, started to laugh, and told us to get out of the car. He opened the boot of the car, got some tool out of it, and cut the watermelon right there and then. It was the nicest watermelon I've ever had in my life. Mom was not even worried about the watermelon that was dripping down our faces and onto our clothes. A moment of happiness that nobody could take from us, as it is engraved forever in our lives. We were one happy family.

^{Happy memories at the sea}

Happiness is a feeling that you cannot describe. It starts right down at your toes, creeps up your body, over your heart, and lands up in your smile and your eyes. I have learned that the smallest of things can make us happy, as long as we let them; therefore, I no longer look for happiness in the house I am living in, the car I am driving, but in the smiling faces of my grandchildren, meals that I spoil my family with, and things I can do for others.

Happiness starts within, me!

^{All images are my own taken from our family 8mm films}

I invite: @liasteem @kouba01 @ngoenyi and @senehasa

Account summary:
Club100
Transfer to vesting: 1,833.823 STEEM
Normal transfer: 42 STEEM (Contest and charity)

Vote @pennsif.witness for growth across the Steemit platform through robust communication at all levels and targeted high yield developments with the resources available.