Christening celebration on Wolwefontein

Phew. As I was uploading these photos I had goosebumps. Anita from Barefootheart photography really does have a way to take photos that tell the story. The whole story and she captures the emotions so beautifully.

Here I was with my most loved on our most loved farm - the place where we got married 5 years ago, to celebrate our daughter, Elizabeth’s, christening.

For me this day had significant meaning for a couple of reasons: We did this with our family, after we thought over the last year that nothing will be possible. We did this on Easter Sunday - and used the opportunity to have communion with family and extended family on the grass in front of the house.

It was also my way to make a promise to Elizabeth, a promise on our style of parenting and how we wish for her to live a wholehearted life. So I read out the Wholehearted Parenting Manifesto, as written by Brene Brown, the queen fo vulnerability. If you know me, you would know that it did not go down without any tears.

I put it here for the record…

Above all else, I want you to know that you are loved and lovable.  You will learn this from my words and actions - the lessons on love are in how I treat you and how I treat myself. 

I want you to engage with the world from a place of worthiness. You will learn that you are worthy of love, belonging and joy everytime you see me practice self-compassion and embrace my own imperfections. 

We will practise courage in our family by showing up, letting ourselves be seen and honoring vulnerability.  We will share our stories of struggle and strength. There will always be room in our home for both. 

We will teach you compassion, by practising compassion with ourselves first, then with each other. We will set, and respect, boundaries and we will honor hard work, hope and preserverance. Rest and play will be family values, as well as family practices. 

You will learn accountability and respect by watching me make misstakes and make amends, and by watching me ask for what I need and talk about how I feel. 

I want you to know joy, so together we will practice gratitude. 

I want you to feel joy, so together we will learn to be vulnerable. 

When uncertainty and scarcity visit, you will be able to draw from the spirit that is our everyday life.

Together we will cry and face our fear and grief. I will want to take away your pain, but instead I will sit with you and teach you how to feel it. 

We will dance and sing and laugh and create. We will always have permission to be ourselves with each other. No matter what, you will always belong here. 

As you begin your Wholehearted Journey, the greatest gift that I can give to you, is to live and love with my whole heart, and to dare greatly. 

I will not teach or love or show you anything perfectly, but I will let you see me. And I will always hold sacred the gift of seeing you. Truly, deeply, seeing you.