When I look back on the road I have followed, life had forced me on many occasions to make difficult choices. (Do easy choices exist?) True to my nature of reflecting on the past, I often wonder where and what I would have been had I chosen the opposite direction. I don’t believe we make wrong decisions (given of course that we make a decision for the right reason) , only different ones: some leading us into learning curves, some leading us down the path of pure joy, some into unwanted hardships… But in spite of all my wondering where the other road would’ve taken me, I am content with where I am now. Is it perfect? I have no idea. How can we ever be sure of perfection? Something can always be worse and it can always be better. And tomorrow perfection might even be different. Art. Motherhood. Love. Sadness. Happiness… Today, my happiness of 26 years is perfect.
I’m taking a break for the rest of the season to spend some time with my family and do deliciously illegal things which only this season allows – eating cookies and foie gras and chocolate, champagne, lazing by the fireplace…
Sorry for being so slack in visiting and commenting, I’ll make up for it! I wish you all a wonderful Christmas with tins full of cookies!
Africantapestry 
Oh, how true–I think we all look back, at different times, on our lives, and feel similar things, Ronell. I am at a point in life where I’m pretty happy with choices I’ve made. Some did indeed bring hardship and pain, but I have grown and learned from them all, I know that! And they have all made me who I am, as is true of all of us, I suppose. My father used to always say “you make a decision as best you can, based on the information you have at the time, and then you don’t look back, because it’s the right decision.” I have often thought he was very right there.
May you have a wonderful holiday season with your loved ones.
Hoe ironies…nee so bedoel….terwyl ons besig is om die laaste proppe uit te prop, laaste hopies bymekaar te vee, kom sit ek vir heel oulaas by die rekenaar voordat hy ook ingelaai word…..en ek groet ook ons jare se loop tot nou toe. Ons neem al die lekkerte en minder lekker onthoue saam, want dit is deel van ons pad.
Veels geluk met jul 26 jaar!!!aan hierdie kant klink ons ook vannaand ‘n glasie-op ‘n nuwe mileu, en ook op julle vir 26 jaar van saamwees! Geniet die voorreg van saamwees as gesin oor hierdie tyd. Geseende Kersfees!
Baie liefde en stywe drukkies van onse drie.. XXX
Merry Christmas, Ronelle. Enjoy all those illegal things!
Just in case you’re not familiar with this poem… it also muses … http://www.bartleby.com/119/1.html
1. The Road Not Taken
TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth; 5
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same, 10
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back. 15
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Robert Frost (1874–1963). Mountain Interval. 1920.
Merry Christmas!
Being happy where you are means it is perfect. it’s even nicer when we figure it out.
Merry Christmas to you and all your loved ones.
Oh Ronell, I could gaze at this post till next year quite easily!! Enjoy your cookies, art and loved ones, I shall too!! Happy Christmas, Happy New Year.
The decisions and choices are endless, infinite – the wisdom is to see the joy in the path you’re on and accept the sadnesses (there is no way without them!) – which you clearly have, Ronell. Congratulations on your 26 years and enjoy this special time with your family!
Beautifully put, Ronell and everyone. It’s heartwarming to look back and see that what sometimes has seemed a muddle and a puzzle and a difficult decision, does work out to form a lovely and fitting pattern along that road taken.
annie
We make decisions based on our experiences and common sense. Sometimes what we think is right turns out to be less than what we hoped. That’s how we get our experience and it is so precious and unique to each of us!!
Sometimes, we don’t really know which way to go until an inspired moment shows us the light. And sometimes too, perhaps there is an unseen hand guiding us along the way.
Congratulations on celebrating 26 years, Ronell! That shows the right decision was made all those years ago!!
Happy Holidays, Joyeaux Noël, Merry Christmas!
SO BEAUTIFUL, as always, Ronell! Buon Natale to you and yours!!! MANY MORE blessings too!
BIG HUGS!
Yes, we seem all to be on the same page here. To accept what has been done and to be happy on your current path makes for a good life. But if not, to have the courage and strength to choose another path may also make for a good life.
Your posts are always so thoughtful and inspiring. This post also had wonderfully wise comments from your readers. Having these reflective moments are often very enlightening especially as the new year will soon be upon us!
Have a wonderful holiday season and many blessings to you and your family!
While ever the path ahead seems more exciting than the path behind I always know I’m on the right track.
As usual your happiness and warmth ripples out way beyond your family circle, Ronell and embraces all who know you through your reflective words and gorgeous, lively paintings. This one is a particularly beautiful contribution to your Watermarks.
Enjoy every delicious moment of the Festive Season.
Ronell, thank you for this beautiful post. You were wonderful to share it with us. I have to admit I cried a bit. Every morning I walk the beach here in Bali taking in all my new surroundings and recording them, but always in my mind are the thoughts of the past and the paths I chose. Like how the hell did I get here…
Enjoy the season and all that delicious sounding food. (Man, do I want a Christmas cookie!)
Selamat Hari Natal.
Jennifer
The choice is always difficult but afterwards we have to follow our road, and that’s it, no regrets, no looking back…
Have a good season.
Luscious colors in this painting, Ronell. Best wishes for a wonderful Christmas, surrounded by people you love! It’s looking like a white one where I live.
Ronell, I wish you peace, rest and renewal in the New Year. Your blog has given me so much pleasure this year. And FPP was a joy to do together. See you next year!
‘n Baie gelukkige Kersfees daar ver in die buiteland. Hier bak die son warm en dit sal koue ham en kalkoen en slaaie wees op die stoep! Mag al jou wense waar wees in die Nuwe Jaar!
wonderful post!! Makes me think, beautiful paintng Ronell. Have a wonderful Holiday.
A Merry Christmas to you as well Ronell!
beautiful words and painting to match! your painting just draws me in…. the ebb and flow of life. “Go with the flow” as the saying goes and have the happiest of holidays Ronell!
I don’t think it gets any better than to feel the kind of satisfaction with one’s life than you expressed in this post. And the painting is a joy to see. Enjoy!